Time Lost
by carguysteve549
Summary: AU version of the Amy, Ty, Chase story. Ty actually saw the kiss between Amy and Chase happen and that sends the story into a completely different and unexpected direction, filled with regrets, surprises, and new challenges for our favorite Heartland family.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

The lone rider edged past a long fence row at the back side of the ranch, following the meandering bank of the lazy Sheep River until she came upon an old wooden gate on the farthest side of the property. It was not unusual to see any number of wildlife on this trail and today was no exception. The animals came here to drink from the river and she figured it to be the equivalent of "animal paradise". That is the way Amy Fleming imagined it as a small girl when she, her older sister Lou, and her mother, Marion, would spend half-day picnics next to the water and just take it all in, telling stories and sharing secrets that seemed so important at the time. Beyond the gate a brilliant yellow field of canola was framed by tall greenish-gold fescue undulating through the foothills toward the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies which were especially clear this morning. It was a gloriously sunny-blue day, the kind of day to be treasured this far north because warm weather comes and goes quickly up here.

The honest to goodness, Alberta born, rancher's granddaughter could not contain her smile at the sight of the jagged gray peaks of granite in the distance, still capped in snow against the cotton puffed blue sky, rising out of the colorful, multi layered texture of the hills beyond the gate. If there could be a place and a day to pattern all other days and places from, this would be the one she would choose. Although she had forgone the normal years of university that most of her high school classmates had left town for, _she_ was the one out here enjoying the natural riches that most of them would probably never experience very often in their lives. She imagined their reward for all of the hard work and years of classes would likely be a lifetime of long hours tied to a desk inside a building crowded full of rushing people, and a screaming boss wanting some monotonous chore done, _yesterday_. She shuddered at the thought. '_Poor people, they don't know what they are missing_' she reasoned to herself.

"Let's go, Boy." Amy patted his neck and turned her trusted gelding, feeling his oats today with his shimmering black coat warmed by the sun, toward a high round topped hill that was tall enough to overlook most of the six hundred acres filling out Heartland Ranch. This prime location in the Alberta foothills had been in her Grandpa Jack Bartlett's family for six generations and was her whole world, or wished it to be. She clicked her tongue and gently brushed her heels at Spartan's belly to get him into a gallop. "Git-up Spartan!" she commanded, leaning into the horses charge, her long blonde hair tossed straight back into the wind in unison with Spartan's flowing mane as they thundered toward the top.

Amy eased up on the reigns and brought the horse to a stop in the center of the high pasture with a nice stand of White Birch trees scattered on the hillside far below. Spartan bent down to nibble the tall grass swaying in the gentle mountain breeze, his ears fluttering with the mood of a very satisfied horse. Amy leaned back in the saddle and a smile twitched at the corners of her lips. The ranch house and barns were visible in the distance nestled in a colorful valley setting worthy of an artist's inspiration.

It was a relief to have some time alone to sort out the events of the past couple of days.

* * *

><p>She began to reflect upon the relationship she had shared for nearly five years with the young man who had been sent to her Grandpa's ranch as a smart ass troubled sixteen year old boy through a probation agreement. The arrangement was proposed to the juvenile officer in charge of the boy's case by her mother, Marion, just before she was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Ty Borden was to work at the ranch as a stable hand whose living quarters were directly over the stables in the loft of the barn. To most kids, the hardship of living in such a place would have sparked a rebellion, thinking <em>anything<em> would have to be better than getting up before first light and working hard until after dark most days, only to have to retire to the dusty, drafty, noisy, and sometimes, smelly loft in that barn. Ty, however, seemed to get the fact that this was his last chance with the juvy system and soon became the best ranch hand that her grandpa Jack had ever had. He showed the family that he could adapt to difficult jobs and was more than capable of almost any chore they threw his way. The young man had a determined grit about him, and proved to all of them that he had a good heart, and an especially tender one toward Amy.

Amy's eyes narrowed at the thought of the early days of his arrival. They did not get along very well in the beginning, she remembered. The loss of her mother when she needed her so badly and the unsettled boy's abuse at the hand of an ill-inherited stepfather had brought them together with a lot of resentment and mistrust issues.

The stormy early years in their young romance seemed like another lifetime ago. Grandpa Jack would stand them in the barn in front of the horses stalls while they were attempting to do their daily chores and scold the both of them, "Enough of this fighting like cats and dogs. Will you two just get over whatever is going on and get along!" It was not a question.

They always seemed to find a way to sort out any differences, learning the art of 'give and take'. They grew up together, becoming best of friends and eventually, much more, but this time something happened between them, something needless to have been this serious of a problem, that they couldn't overcome, and it had set them apart.

The memories made her shake her head in frustration as she began to feel the weight of regret filling her eyes. Tears were sliding down her cheeks, tapping dark circles onto the tan leather of her saddle, while she thought of how stubborn of a young man Ty was, and she admitted to herself what a head-strong young girl she had been.

* * *

><p>Images from a year ago filled her head when she sat astride Spartan in this very spot, crying from the bottom of her soul. It was the day it finally hit home, that she had lost Ty, and this time he wasn't coming back. It was over an incident that they should have been able to get past, if only they could have talked it out. But this time, just plain stubbornness, with neither of them willing to give in, had cost both of them the best friend either of them had ever known. In her mind, that was maybe the saddest part of losing him. Nobody <em>got<em> her, who she _really_ was, like Ty did, and she doubted that she would ever find someone who could make her feel the same way. "How did we let that happen to us?" she asked Spartan, who looked around to her with his mouth full of fresh grass as if to give an "I don't know, how could you?" response, with a hint of a judgmental attitude, his rider thought.

They came here together to this special place as often as possible. Being up here with the horse that her mother died while trying to rescue connected her to her past and cleared her head so she could think her way through whatever was troubling her, or to dream about the things that would make her happy in life. The path for all of her important decisions, the ones she had control over, at least, had been determined at the top of this solitary hill, and sometimes this was the only place where she felt she could just let go and cry the hurt away, with no one else in the world watching.

Amy thought she had moved on to a place in her head that would allow her to start putting her life back together and move forward, but the tears were flowing freely now, and recent news had brought her thoughts back to the one she believed to be the love of her life, and how much she was missing him.

Today, she was thinking about Ty, and how he would be fussing over his little boy, if he were here with them.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Amy pulled her left boot out of its stirrup and swung her leg over the horses back to dismount. "Don't you take off on me!" she told Spartan as she looked him in the eye and patted his neck, looping the reins around the horn of his saddle to keep them from getting tangled in his hooves.

There was a thin, smooth sliver of granite exposed above the dirt in the center of the pasture. Amy had discovered it as an adventurous eight year old while exploring the ranch on one of the first trail rides her mother ever let her ride alone. The young cowgirl constantly searched for cool places hidden within the ranch and had learned back then how the sun warmed the rock and made it a great place to lay back and watch the clouds drift by for hours at a time. Being swallowed up by the high grass all around her, as alone as one could get on her grandpa's ranch, gave the girl an escape from all things real and present and left her to daydream about growing up to be a rodeo star, just like her dad, or her mother for that matter. Tim Fleming was a rodeo legend. He used to tell his young daughter tall tales of his great rides on broncs all over Canada and the USA, and brag about the four all-around national championship buckles he still had on display at Big River Ranch where he lived just down the road from Heartland. Amy was too young to remember much about her mother roping or barrel racing at all of the local rodeos, but it was not unusual for her to win a few buckles of her own, keeping them on display in her office in the barn where her proud daughters kept them to this day.

Spartan made a lazy circle around the rock, his tail swishing with contentment and occasionally nickering to his rider as she rested only a few feet away.

Serenity found her outstretched and slowly winding down her up tempo daily pace, watching puffy white clouds appear from over the mountaintops, floating across the clear blue sky in constantly changing shapes, and eventually growing smaller in the distance over the eastern prairies. It was an amazing escape for the now fully grown country girl. The whisper of the mountain breeze making its way through the grass swaying toward the low lands farther down the foothills was nature's medicine for the soul.

Days like this one usually eased her into a state of relaxation that was hard to find any other way or in any other place, but today, events of the last year and a half crowded their way back from bottled-up memories and began to replay themselves in her mind, letting the unwinnable game of second guessing start to push the pleasantness of the moment away.

It had been more than a year since anyone in the Heartland family had seen or even heard anything of Ty Borden. Amy and all of her family and friends had looked everywhere and asked everyone they could think of for any word as to his whereabouts, especially in the past few months. When Lou called the University of Calgary where the promising veterinarian was supposed to have started the last two years of his courses in the fall, they told her that Ty had called the administration office to inform them that he would not be back for further classes, that he was leaving the area. There was nothing, not even a clue as to where he might have gone.

* * *

><p>14 MONTHS AGO<p>

The young couple had come to a rough patch in their relationship for various reasons. They were in a stage of their lives when things were changing rapidly and neither of them was comfortable with uncertain situations. They were happy together, but admittedly neither had learned to stop holding something back from the other. It must have been due to fear which was aggravated by the loss each of them had experienced as kids. They both held the notion that if they were to let go and completely give their heart to someone, then control would be lost in a very important part of their lives and it could cause them be hurt again.

Ty was pushing hard to keep his grades up and had worked a deal with one of his classmates who lived on campus to stay overnight three nights a week so as to cut down on time lost during the hour long drive back to Hudson every evening, only to study all night and drive all the way back to Calgary early the next morning for his classes. The busy student was so exhausted from his schedule of classes and work at Scott Cardinal's vet clinic that it was difficult to find time to spend with his girlfriend. He often fell asleep during their time together, mostly on the sofa at the ranch, never going out on a proper date any more.

Amy was now concerned about the free time Ty might use to socialize with other students at the campus. She had seen the way some of the girls flirted with him on occasion, and it really got under her skin.

Everything in their lives had turned into a predictable funk, leaving each of them bored and increasingly irritable, until one Wednesday afternoon while Amy was on the jumping course with a client's horse and a fancy pickup truck pulled into the driveway and parked beside the fence of the arena. The door popped open to reveal the good looking, fast talking, world renowned horse trainer as he stepped out and walked across the grass to prop his foot on the lower rail of the gate. He leaned across the top with his trademark grin.

"Hey, Miracle Girl! How's life been treating you?"

"Chase Powers….What brings _you_ here?" she cautiously assessed his purpose for coming back around after all of this time.

Chase had made it obvious that he was attracted to Amy. They were part of a colt starting competition a couple of years ago called "Ring of Fire", in which Amy won out, helping to further build her reputation of becoming the "Miracle Girl", as she was known. They had done a few more competitions on tour together at Chases' request and while he made some attempts to take Amy out on dates, she turned him down repeatedly. She was wearing the promise ring Ty had given her, and eventually Chase went on to greener pastures and hadn't been seen in these parts for over a year.

"I need to talk to you about a business proposition," he offered to her, again with that broad grin.

"Oh? And what might that be?" she cautiously asked.

And then, the pitch, "Well, I am going to start marketing colts as a package deal….ready to go for all those cowboy wannabes out there." He held up his hands in a theatrical gesture, "Come to Chase Powers and get a gentled, trained, tacked-up horse for the wife and kids to ride on weekends. A _Chase Powers Signature Horse_! One easy step and you're in the cowboy business!"

Chase hooked his right foot onto the second rail of the fence and leapt over it into the arena beside the now even more curious rider while continuing to sell his idea, "I'm telling you, Amy, it can't go wrong!" he proposed. "What I need is a trainer who can handle several colts at a time…..to take care of getting them ready for the clients. So….are you interested?"

"I guess I would need to know exactly what it is that you need me to do, and…, I would need to think about it," Amy mused.

"OK, but don't take too long, 'Miracle Girl'! This deal is _hot_ and needs to start pretty quick….'Make hay while the sun is shining', as they say." With that, Chase turned toward his truck and yelled over his shoulder as he hopped over the fence to leave, "Talk to you Saturday? Maggie's, at noon?"

"OK, I suppose I can do that….see you then," she said.

* * *

><p>During his middle of the week trip home from school, Ty was trying his best to keep his eyes open and attention toward his girl.<p>

"Amy, what are you thinking about?" Ty asked. "Seems like your mind is somewhere else this evening."

"Yeah," she replied, "I guess I have some things to think about."

"Like what? It must be serious to take your thoughts away like that."

"No, not really serious, but it could be a great business opportunity that I heard about today," answered Amy, not really wanting to start a likely argument when she revealed the business proposal to her sure to be jealous boyfriend.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with Chase Powers, would it?" he bluntly asked.

'_Uh-oh_,' she thought.

"Maayybee…," she stalled, suddenly on the defensive. "How did you hear about him being back in town so fast?"

"Well, you know…, bad news travels fast."

"Ty…..just stop it! Why do you always have to butt heads with Chase every time he comes around?"

With that, Ty stood up and walked to the front door and opened it, and without looking back, "I've got some studying to do for a big test on Friday. I'll see you after that, OK?"

"Yeah…..OK. Good luck with that test!" she said while she dejectedly followed him to the door and slumped against it, watching him slam the door of his old blue truck and head up the hill turning toward the city, in spite of this being the night he usually went to his old loft to sleep because of staying up late with his girlfriend.

Ty considered Chase Powers a threat from the first time he laid eyes on him. He believed the boisterous cowboy took advantage of his girlfriend's good nature and that she was a little too naïve to handle a wheeler dealer of his caliber, and every minute he was in the same province was a minute too long. He could sense that Amy was attracted to the often advertised 'Trainer of the Stars'. How could she not be? The self-proclaimed 'Number one horse trainer in Canada' was everything most starry eyed young cowgirls would have thought admirable in a man. He was famous, handsome, rich, and he made his living working with some of the best horses in the country. Chase Powers could give the 'Miracle Girl' anything she asked for, and would have done it too, if Amy would have let it happen.

* * *

><p>A vibration in her pocket jarred the sleeping cowgirl back to the here and now.<p>

"Hello?"

"Amy, Mrs. Gilbertson is here with 'Rebel'. I can see how he gets his name!" Lou filled her sister in. "Caleb is having quite the time trying to get him in the barn. I think he is just going to put him in the paddock until you get here and decide what you are going to do with him, OK?"

"That will be fine, Lou. Just tell Caleb to leave him be, for now. Give Rebel a little grain and water. Let him get settled in and I will be there in about 30 minutes," she said.

* * *

><p>Amy's life had changed in so many ways since her first love and best friend left Heartland without as much as saying goodbye. She understood why the troubled young man who came to live with her family felt so angry and alone when he arrived at the ranch. She knew how hard it was for him to overcome his childhood experiences, learn to trust in anything good in life, or to believe that he deserved to be happy, but she mistakenly thought he, and they, had outgrown all of that. '<em>That had to be the reason he wouldn't even give me a chance to explain<em>.' she was thinking to herself.

The jilted cowgirl had gone over and over in her head the details of the days before he disappeared. Those all-consuming thoughts became a hindrance to her ability to interact with her clients horses in the first months after he left. Only after more urgent challenges demanded her full attention was she able to put them to rest and try to move on.

There were no government records of Ty working anywhere in the country. His phone was cut off. None of his friends had heard a word from him. He had vanished.

'_Damn, what are the odds that Dad would find him now, after all this __time, and so far away?_' she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chase was sitting on one of the barstools at Maggie's Restaurant, flirting with the waitress and telling stories to any of the other patrons who would listen. It was 11:45 A.M. on Saturday morning and he decided he had time for another cup of coffee before his meeting with his favorite horse trainer, besides himself. The waitress had just warmed up his third cup when the lady wrangler walked through the front door.

"Hey, Miracle G-…what the heck is wrong with _you_?" Chase asked when he got a good look at her face.

Amy was a few minutes early for their meeting and the expression she was wearing reflected a mood of not wanting to be needlessly badgered.

"Oh, nothing really. I just stayed up a little too late last night waiting for Ty. He was supposed to come by the ranch after he got out of school, but he never showed up…, or picked up any of my calls, or texts." She was failing at trying not to come across as grumpy.

"Well, I would _never_ do that to my lady!" he said, pleased at any opportunity to antagonize her relationship with the struggling veterinarian student who held the target of his affection, for now. "Why are you _still_ putting up with that guy?"

"Stop it, Chase." she warned. "He has been really busy at school, and holding down a full time job at the same time is a lot for _anyone_ to handle. He's been spreading himself pretty thin lately and it makes things rough for us sometimes."

"Ain't no way that I would let anything stand between you and me if _I_ were in his place, I'll guarantee you that!" raising his eyebrows and showing his best smile as he continued to pester her over her relationship with 'that stable boy who lives in your barn', as he usually referred Ty when he was talking to Amy.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, that business proposition you mentioned?" she redirected his focus, leaving no doubt that she was not amused by the implications.

"O.K. then…," realizing he was getting nowhere with the provocative chatter, "here's the deal. I have backers who are setting me up with a new website to market my brand and to sell merchandise which will offer anyone looking for a ready to ride horse a way to buy it as a package deal. The horse will come guaranteed to be gentle, trained, and have all the necessary tack to get them started. The tack, by the way, will be 'Chase Powers Signature' merchandise. Everything from bits to buckles with my name engraved right on them," he chuckled to himself. "The whole thing will be advertised in all the horse and farming magazines and papers. Isn't that great?"

Unimpressed by the fluff, she asked, "Soooo, where do I fit into all of this?"

"Well, _you_ can get in on the ground floor, Amy! I need a good trainer who can gentle a horse, train it, and have it ready to ship out in three weeks, or less. I am thinking we need about two horses per week to get us started. What do you think, can you do it? Huh, Miracle Girl?" challenging her while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Gosh, Chase, I don't know. That sounds like a really tall order to me!"

"But, you can do it, right? You _are_ still the 'Miracle Girl', aren't you?" he continued to challenge her, knowing precisely how to put her self-confidence at risk.

Amy Fleming could not stand to let the overconfident cowboy get a dare in unanswered.

''Yeah, I think I can do it, Chase, if you get good horses."

"Nothing but the best! Gotta be 'Signature' horses, right? Oh, there's one more thing," Chase was wheeler-dealing again, "We would need to do a promotional colt starting clinic in Calgary when we do the media launch. You know, like the good old days when we were such a good team!"

"Chase, I told you I was through doing those clinics….with _you_, at least," she reminded him.

"Well, you really should reconsider, especially since I had all of those posters made up!" he said.

Amy looked to where he was pointing, and there it was, right there on the window beside the front door, sure to be seen by anyone coming into the store.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me! That is _not_ going to happen!"

"Look, Amy, is it that you don't want to, or is just because you are a little surprised?" He was still selling her on the idea. "Don't let anything, or anyone, especially the 'hired hand' hold you back. You know you want to do it!"

Chase knew exactly how to push her buttons and steer her into not wanting to back down to him. The potential co-star got up from her seat and headed to the door, giving a stern look over her shoulder to the source of her frustration.

"Well, what do you say?" he asked, unfazed by her look.

"I'll think about it!" closing the door behind her and walking with her eyes to the bricks on the sidewalk all the way to the truck.

* * *

><p>Amy stayed focused on the proposed partnership as she drove the back roads into the foothills toward home. She considered the possibilities that this new business arrangement could have for Heartland's bottom line, and for her reputation. It could be just what was needed to get the ranches' finances looking a lot healthier and it might be as much fun as the other clinics they had done, if everything went just right.<p>

* * *

><p>Ty had gotten wind of the new deal from mutual friends who were hearing rumors of some kind of new 'horse shopping' website. He figured the idea sounded like it had Chase Power's name written all over it. That was enough in itself to get Ty's boiler hot, but after he saw one of the "Chase Powers and Amy 'Miracle Girl' Fleming" posters in a widow on campus in Calgary, he was furious. "Surely she has learned her lesson when it comes to <em>that guy<em>," he said aloud to a lady who was standing to his right, reading the billing along with him.

"I've seen them before, at one of those clinics they did a while back," the woman told him. "They are something else, those two! It is _amazing_ what they can do with a colt in no more than a couple of hours. They're married, you know!" she imagined. "They are _such_ a perfect match, don't you think, working with horses like they do?"

The more he mulled it over in his head, the more upset he became. He was glad to have the hour it took him to drive to Heartland. It gave him some much needed time to cool down, at least he hoped it would, before he confronted Amy about the new partnership she would be telling him about soon.

* * *

><p>As she followed the winding driveway into Heartland, Amy could see that Ty had managed to find his way back to the ranch, noticing his old GMC parked in front of the barn in its usual place. <em>'He is going to hit the ceiling when he finds out about this!' <em>

After spending the afternoon helping Amy with two of her client's horses and catching up with some overdue chores around the barn, Ty walked into Marion's old office and sat in one of the chairs in front of her old desk. He let his eyes drift around to each of the faded family pictures on the shelves along the back wall, his favorite being the one of Amy as a beaming six year old cowgirl sitting astride her first pony, "Sunshine".

Amy found him sitting there alone and moved behind him to put her hands on his shoulders and give them a gentle squeeze. She was worrying because of how uncharacteristically quiet Ty had been. "C'mon, it's time for dinner," she told him.

Following a pleasant meal with the family the young couple walked out to the barn to do the nightly check on the horses and to have some much needed alone time. The entrepreneur horse trainer was trying to avoid any conversation about her latest venture to ensure that they could have at least one pleasant evening this week, without the usual bickering when Chase's name was mentioned.

Amy could read Ty's eyes with uncanny precision and she knew that he was tense and maybe even had a hint of resentment when she studied his gaze. She feared that he must have found out, somehow, but figured it was likely just her guilt of the secret she was holding back from the guy who was more than just a boyfriend, but also was her best friend.

"So, what's the matter?" she nudged an elbow gently at his ribs, testing his temperament and using her blue 'flirty eyes' in an attempt to disarm the bomb that she knew was ticking inside him.

"Why don't you just come right out and say it, Amy? You are in business with Chase Powers, _again_!"

"_Ohhh,_ c_rap!_" she muttered to herself.

"If _that_ isn't enough, you are going with him to Calgary, maybe other places too, to do those colt starting clinics again?" he continued with his rant, gathering momentum as he went, making the comment sound more like a question than it was.

"I'm sorry you found out like you did, Ty, but will you please stop worrying about Chase! I love _you_, don't you know that?" she tried to calm her agitated boyfriend.

"Amy, you know very well that I don't trust that guy and I hate the thought of you being anywhere around him. He is a first class jackass and I don't want you to have anything to do with him!

This was another one of her buttons, one you didn't want to push, "Just where do you get off thinking you can tell me what to do, or how to run my business?" she yelled.

He tried to remind his best friend of the lop-sided deals the enterprising cowboy always seemed to propose to her. "You should have figured out by now that he uses you and takes advantage of you every time you try to do something together! This will be like going down the same old road with him, all over again!" Ty declared, the red beginning to show in his face.

"_You_ are the one who should get over himself and stop trying to hold me back!" she blurted out.

Her remark could not have had more of an effect on Ty than if she had taken her fist and punched him in the face. He stepped a full step away, just to buy a few seconds to try and recover from the shocking comment he had just heard straight from her mouth, and after no apparent words of reason came to him, retreated to the back door of the barn, looking for some fresh air.

Amy realized the harshness of her words and immediately regretted how they must have sounded to him. "Ty, _no_, that is _not_ what I meant to say!" as she followed him to the fence that surrounded the pasture at the rear of the barn. "Of course your opinion matters to me, I just….I feel that I can't stop taking chances now, the kind of chances that could make my business grow into something I can be proud of. I want_ you_ to be proud of me too!"

"And, for whatever reason, those chances always seem to revolve around Chase Freakin' Powers! How does that keep happening?" he wondered. "Look, Amy, I think you are the most amazing person I have ever known. Not just with horses, but with me too. I'm sorry I have a problem with him, but I just can't help thinking that as long as he is around, there will be nothing but trouble between us. He knows how to manipulate you into doing things that annoy me….you know he does that, don't you?"

"Ty, please don't worry about him. I love you, and I always will. It is just business with Chase." She was searching for a way to defuse the situation before it became worse. "Com'on, let's go back to the house and sit in front of the fire."

They returned to the house and found their way into the living room with a nice fire already burning in the stone fireplace. The increasingly stressed couple settled on the sofa with each of them stubbornly trying to justify their own point of view inside their minds. The conversation slackened into a deafening silence, and before ten minutes had passed, Ty was fast asleep in Amy's arms.

After pulling loose the quilt that draped over the back of the sofa, she covered Ty and kissed him on the cheek, then softly tiptoed to her bedroom to try and get some sleep of her own.

* * *

><p>The morning came soon enough with Lou being the first to stir when she went to the kitchen to start breakfast for the family. One by one the whole crew awoke and made their way to the table to get something to eat. Everyone had noticed Ty lying on the sofa and tried to keep quiet so as not to wake him. They all knew how hard it was for him to carry the load he was subjected to every day. Jack had talked to Lou about it recently, wondering if the full time student, veterinary assistant, and part time horse trainer's-helper was carrying too much of a burden. Each of them admitted they were concerned about his health at the pace he was keeping.<p>

Amy opened her door and saw Ty rubbing his face while trying to wake up. "Hey, sleepy head. You konked out on me again last night!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I just can't seem to be able to keep my eyes open when I'm relaxed like that."

"Relaxed? Is that how you would describe it?" the surprised girlfriend whispered into his ear.

All the somewhat rejuvenated student-vet's assistant could do was look his girl in the eye and wonder where and how the conversation would continue because they obviously had more to say to each other.

Thanking Lou for breakfast, the couple each picked an apple from the fruit arrangement at the center of the table for Spartan and Harley and made their way to the barn for the daily round of morning chores. When they worked together like this, the same as hundreds of other mornings like this one, the chores went very quickly and it reminded them of how much they enjoyed doing simple things with each other.

With the stalls finished, horses fed, watered, and turned out to pasture, Amy hung the broom in its place on the wall behind the feed bins and turned toward the guy she had been missing so much lately and asked him, "Soooo, you wanna do some catching up?"

"Humm, I don't know if I remember how," he teased.

"Well…, maybe I can help you with your memory," she said as she reached for his hand, gave him the twinkling spark of blue from within her eyes that always made him say 'yes' to anything she asked of him, and pulled him up the wooden stairs to the old loft that Ty had once called home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>THIRTEEN MONTHS AGO<p>

Amy was standing in the middle of the arena in Calgary with large crowd of admiring horse lovers surrounding her. They came to see some of the best trainers from all around the country use their talents working with some of the finest colts available. There had been an autograph session which she thought was exciting. Being the star of the show as 'Miracle Girl, Amy Fleming' always made her feel special and she enjoyed talking with her fans. The media were there to cover the clinic for the news and equine trade papers to be circulated all over Canada, the platform for Chase's new advertising campaign.

A beautiful black colt was introduced into the arena and Amy started off by explaining some of her bonding techniques which could get a bit too drawn out for a large crowd of ordinary horse lovers to follow at length, but these die hard horsemen and women watched every detail hoping to learn from the example, yet eagerly anticipating what Chase would do to live up to his reputation of using his leaf blowers, beach balls, chain saws, and various stunts to keep things stirred up.

Amy's part of the demonstration went more quickly than usual and the crowd quietly showed their appreciation for her progress with each successful step in bringing the two year old closer to accepting his saddle and letting her mount up. The patient trainer explained how to judge the moment of the colts submission, and when it finally came, Amy turned away from it, smiling as she faced the crowd, causing the trusting animal to walk up to her side and follow her without any restraints wherever she wanted to lead him, 'Joining Up' as her mother, Marion, had called it. Amy could work most horses and get them to trust her as quickly as anyone these equine loving crowds had ever seen. This colt was no different.

After working the young horse for a few more minutes, entertaining the envious onlookers as she went, the satisfied trainer managed to tack up the bridle, blanket, and saddle with ease.

Feeling the charge of a successful beginning, Amy decided to push him a little and gently grasped the pommel of the saddle and went straight for the stirrup causing the colt to suddenly bolt away. She jumped to the side and planted her boots ankle deep in the loose dirt in the arena and watched as the confused animal circled back around and looked at her as if to say, 'Oh, no you don't! Not yet!'

Ty and Jack leaned over the gate of the staging pen swapping commentary among themselves and made a game of sorts of guessing what her next move would be. They especially enjoyed watching when one of the horses challenged her authority, that look of concentration she got in her eyes and the way she set her jaw in determination to get the animal under her control.

"I guess you can see now that your free spirited days were numbered before you knew what hit you when you came to the ranch," Jack mused at the thought of his fifteen year old granddaughter making it her personal mission to tame the rebellious teenager who came to live with them several years ago. "She worked you just like that horse and had you right where she wanted you in no time!" he teased his young friend with a snicker.

"Yeah, maybe, but I've still got a little bit of spirit left in me!" he scoffed at his mentor in life.

Chase joined in the performance after his partner failed at her second attempt to mount the cautious colt, this time falling backwards and plopping with a thud in the loose dirt, sitting there and watching the now playful colt circle back around and shake his head as if mocking her, causing the crowd to laugh in amusement.

Power's stunts mostly scared the horses, and they did have a place in his style of training, but it always upset Amy to see the young horses subjected to that sort of treatment. They often argued over his theory of how to 'show a horse who was the boss'. After several minutes of playing up to the crowd with jokes and various stunts with the leaf blower and beach balls, the grandstanding cowboy managed to catch up to the now agitated horse and worked at calming the animal down a bit before the aggravated female trainer retook command of the arena.

The give and take of the two distinctly different methods of horse training made for a much more entertaining way to keep a large crowd involved in the process, and the cowboy's showboating playing opposite of the traditional compassion of the beautiful female trainer was a popular combination, rekindling the excitement they both had enjoyed during the "Ring of Fire" tour.

Amy once again worked to recapture the colt's trust and demonstrated more of the methods her mother had taught her as a young girl, touching and talking, brushing his neck with the palm of her hand while reading his eyes and ears to gauge her progress in regaining control. She explained to the crowd the idea behind each action, slipping a treat into the horse's mouth for good measure as she loosened the saddle and placed it and the blanket in the dirt beside her.

As soon as she saw the timing was right, she swung her leg over the colt's bare back and they began to canter in a wide circle around the ring to the crowd's delight. Not to be outdone in front of the crowd, Chase grabbed Amy by the waist as she rode past him and mounted the colt in tandem behind her. Everyone in the place stood and cheered as their favorite cowgirl, her clownish passenger waiving his hat above them, as she dashed through the open gate at the end of the arena and rode out of sight.

Both of the riders dismounted and faced each other with wide smiles of victory. Jack and Ty were walking across the staging pen to congratulate Amy when both of them froze in their tracks as they saw Chase put his arms around Amy's waist and draw her to him in a passionate kiss, her hat falling off her head and into the dirt behind her. When they parted Chase was facing the two men, wearing the smile of a conqueror as he looked at his prize.

Time stopped for Ty as he watched the kiss linger for several of the longest seconds imaginable. He had always envisioned that there was a possibility of some sort of a romance between the trainers during the summer of their previous tour that hung in the back of his mind, but now that he was seeing it play out in front of him he could feel his blood run cold with rejection. He remembered the lady who told him she thought the two trainers were married. _'Maybe this isn't the first time this has happened!'_ He felt his gut twisting into a knot with the image replaying across his mind.

Jack looked at Ty to check his reaction and realized he had seen the look in his eyes before. He knew he must get Ty away from there before he had time to recover from the shock or else he would need to figure out how to get the enraged young man out of jail, again.

While wavering somewhere between fury and devastation, the confused boyfriend forced a look over his shoulder as the old rancher lead him outside by tugging at his arm with a vise like grip. Once they had reached the passenger door of his truck, Jack opened it and half pleaded, half demanded, "Get in….NOW!"

Ty complied with the older man's instruction, too numb from the sudden change of direction in his life to offer much resistance.

The drive on the open road heading back to Heartland was dark and silent. It was especially troubling to the older man that Ty had said nothing since the incident. Experience told him that it meant the pressure was building in his enraged friend and it was looking for a place and time to explode.

Jack knew that Ty looked up to him as more of a father figure than a friend. They had been through many rough situations together and a mutual trust and respect had been built between them over the years. He was struggling with the right words to say to the young man he believed would have been just like his own son, if he had one, and he was also hung up on the sight of his granddaughter apparently betraying her boyfriend with the likes of Chase Powers. "What the hell was she thinking?" he muttered under his breath.

The passenger thought he may have heard his rescuer say something, but he didn't bother to look up. All he could manage was to keep his head down and try to get the vision of the girl he loved kissing the guy he hated more than anything else out of his head. _'Good luck with that,_' he thought.

Jack pulled the old truck in front of the ranch house and before he reached to open his door he looked Ty straight in the eye and said, "Listen to me. We don't know what that was all about, yet. I'm sure there is a good explanation, just don't let your head fill in too many details until you have heard the full story, from Amy. And most of all, don't do anything foolish that you are gonna regret later," he advised. "We will get through this, just like we always do."

Still, there was no reply. "Ty…are you hearing what I am telling you?"

The phone in Ty's pocket vibrated and when he pulled it out to read the screen he huffed at it and pushed the button to turn it off.

"Amy?" Jack supposed.

Ty nodded and then pulled the door open and stepped outside. "I think I just need to go now."

"Go? Where to?"

"I really don't know, Jack….just…. away from here!"

Jack realized that his ranch hand probably didn't want to be up in his loft because it might be too awkward when Amy arrived. He didn't want to think what might happen if Chase was the one who brought Amy home.

"OK, Ty, I guess I can see your point….but promise me you will call me in the morning….we will get all of this straightened out, I will make sure of that!"

There was a long, agonizing pause before the answer came. "Thanks for everything you have done for me, Jack. I really appreciate the way you believed in me and had my back all of these years."

As his mentor and most trusted friend listened to the crunching of gravel under Ty's feet as he walked away in the darkness toward his old truck parked in front of the barn, Jack had that sinking feeling in his stomach that threatened to make him sick. He knew he couldn't stop whatever the troubled young man had on his mind to do, and he hoped Ty could come to his senses before he acted foolishly. He hated the thought of such a fine young man, in his opinion, wasting his future in a fit of anger after he had finally managed to find a bit of happiness in his life at the place he had learned to call home.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

* * *

><p>IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CLINIC IN CALGARY<p>

Amy was filled with a jumble of emotions. Her performance had gone well and she was thrilled at her success with the colt, especially with so many people looking on, but the advances of her partner after the show had her reeling with embarrassment and anger. She had tried to call Ty, wanting to meet him outside and away from any chance of him hearing about what had happened and avoiding a likely confrontation, but discovered that she had apparently been stranded and left without a ride home because her boyfriend and grandpa were nowhere to be found. _'That's strange, but just as well, because there would have been one hell of a fight when he found out!'_ she thought.

Fortunately, Lou had come down from the bleachers to congratulate her sister for her successful performance. When the younger sister confided to her what had happened with Chase, Lou gasped, "Amy! What were you thinking?"

"I was _thinking_ that we had put on a great clinic and it couldn't have gone any better!" the frustrated cowgirl said. "It was _awesome_, the way the show ended, and when we dismounted we were just standing there looking at each other, quite pleased with ourselves…, and all of a sudden, he just grabbed me around the waist and kissed me!"

"For God's sake, Amy, what did you do?"

"Well, it took a few seconds, I guess, to realize what was happening, to come from such a high down to…._that_!" she explained with her jaw clinched and her eyebrows narrowing in in disgust. "I was going to let it pass after I told him what I thought of him for doing that, but when I saw his face…, and the way he looked at me…, I slugged him right in the jaw!" she grimaced as she brought her hand up to look at the skinned and swollen knuckles and tried to flex her fingers to loosen the tightness that was setting in, checking to see if perhaps she had broken some bones.

"You what?" Lou said, stunned by the revelation, yet unquestionably proud of how tough her little sister had become.

"Yup! Hit him pretty good! Knocked him right out from under his hat!"

Lou shook her head in disbelief and tried to put it all together, "Soooo, where was Grandpa and Ty when all of this was going on?"

"I haven't seen or heard from either of them, and I don't know where they are!" Amy worried.

After replaying the events and thinking of the possible reasons for the unexpected absence of the two men, they became concerned that the worst had happened and that Ty could have seen the kiss, but both figured that if he had, Chase would be in the hospital by now. She tried repeatedly to phone her boyfriend, but he wasn't picking up her calls, until the fifth call was finally answered.

"Ty?"

"No, Amy, it's me." Jack replied, having taken Ty's phone just after they had left the arena, calling to let Amy know that he wouldn't be able to bring her home. "We had to leave…, see if you can find Lou about getting a ride home."

"Uhh, Lou's right here with me now…, Grandpa, what's wrong? Is everything O.K.?" she asked with her heart beginning to race in panic. "Where is Ty?"

"We'll talk about that when you get home!"

* * *

><p>Jack met them as soon as they walked through the front door. He gathered everyone together at the kitchen table where all of the family's meetings were held and told his granddaughters about how he was with Ty when they saw Chase grab Amy into that kiss and how he watched the young man who was just beginning to find his way into knowing what it could be like to have a family to call his own falling apart from the inside out.<p>

"I had to get Ty out of there, Amy! If he could have gotten to…, your _friend_, he wouldn't have stopped until he hurt him…, at least he wanted to! I could see it in his eyes!" he said. "I tried to get him to talk to me, but you know how he gets when things turn out bad for him," he explained to his anxious granddaughters. "He told me that he had to get out of here for a while, and I thought that might not be a bad idea. What do you think would have happened if Chase had brought you home and he was still here?"

"Not much chance of that happening!" Lou said as she explained to him how her little sister had stuck up for herself with the overconfident cowboy and if the two of them had waited for a few more seconds, they would have seen a completely different outcome than they had assumed.

"Well, where is he, then?" the girls asked simultaneously.

Amy was distraught over how this awful turn of fate had affected herself, her family, and the guy she loved. She shared with them how she and Ty had begun thinking more seriously about their future and although the stress of being so busy had caused them to be impatient with each other lately that they had been talking about the two of them going forward with their lives. She revealed that Soraya, Amy's best friend from the time they were in the first grade, told her last week that he had been shopping in town for a ring, according to one of her relatives who worked in the jewelry store just down the street from the restaurant / feed store that her mother owned, and had already purchased the modest diamond he finally picked out, and that she was expecting to have him ask her to marry him at any time.

"Then, what the hell are you doing in that arena with Chase Powers?" Jack asked with a flavor of accusation.

"I thought it was a good business decision and that Chase's horses were going to be good for all of us because of the extra work he was going to send to me here at the ranch! If things had gone like they were supposed to, I could have made a decent living working with them! But, I guess he had other ideas for our business relationship, and everything is ruined now!"

* * *

><p>In the weeks following his disappearance, everyone at the ranch had held high hopes that the disillusioned young man would eventually find his way back to them, given the time he needed to process what he had thought to be the loss of the only person he had ever truly loved. His old Norton motorcycle and his horse, Harley, would be reason enough for him to at least have to contact them and make arrangements to get his most treasured possessions back.<p>

* * *

><p>Ty had left Heartland for parts unknown about three weeks before Amy began feeling tired and unsettled. She had frequent bouts of nausea which at the time made sense to her because the stress of the events leading up to losing Ty and the way her life had turned into a confusing mess afterward was taking a toll on her health. The hyper-sensitive cowgirl cried at the drop of a hat and had the temperament of a cornered cougar. All of these symptoms were new to her, but so was the emotional upheaval of having everything she and Ty had gone through together being torn to shreds in an ill-timed lapse of good judgment.<p>

Lou watched her sister suffer for far too long, growing impatient with listening to her continue to explain away the cause, "It's just nerves, I'll get over it!" and took it upon herself to make an appointment with the family doctor in an effort to get Amy back on track.

The answer for Amy's prolonged mystery illness came soon enough. After about an hour consulting with Dr. Olsen and waiting on results from some tests she had taken, the doctor came into the room, sat in a chair directly in front of Amy and said, "Well, young lady, congratulations, you are going to be a Mom!"

Amy looked into the doctor's eyes waiting for her to say, "Just kidding!" but that didn't come. It took a few seconds for the news to register and when she turned to look at Lou, both of them saw their only sister with their mouths hanging open, gasping for air.

"A-Are you sure?" Lou finally asked, watching Amy turning a pale shade of gray as she labored to regain her breath.

"Positive!" the doctor replied.

* * *

><p>Everyone in the family took the news relatively well. They were all supportive toward Amy, that is, with the exception of her father, Tim Fleming. He did not accept the situation well at all.<p>

"I'm gonna tell you something…..when I find that no account boyfriend of yours…well, let's just say that he is gonna wish none of this ever happened!" Tim threatened.

Jack attempted to head his former son-in-law off at the pass. "Tim, just hold on a minute! In the first place, this is none of your business! In the second place, well…..just calm down! Going after Ty is _not_ going to help a thing!"

"Jack, what are you talking about? This is _my daughter_ and I'm damn sure going to see that he does his part in all of this!" demanded the angry father.

"Dad! That is ENOUGH!" Amy cried. "It wasn't his fault any more than it was mine!"

"Amy…what are you saying? You are here and he's…, not! He just…he just ran out on you, nowhere to be found! What kind of guy do you think he is? Where has he been? It looks to me like he took the easiest way out and I'm not going to stand for it!"

"DAD, JUST STOP IT!" screamed Amy. "He probably doesn't even know that I….that we….are expecting! Grandpa, Lou, and I have looked everywhere we can think of to try and find him! Nobody we have asked has heard from or seen him in weeks! If you knew him like I do, you would know how much he wanted kids of his own someday!" she pleaded. "Because of the way he had to grow up, without his parents or anybody to care for him like they should have, I know in my heart that he would not abandon his own child, not if he knew! I know, Dad, I just _know_ that he would want to be here for his little boy, or girl. I didn't find out until after…, until after he was gone," she tried to make her stubborn father see her reasoning, just before having to make another mad dash to the bathroom and losing what she had left in her stomach of the salad she had eaten at lunch.

Tim stubbornly declared "Well, I'll just see about that, when I find him!" more concerned with his conviction to _'bring Ty to justice'_ than how his daughter was feeling behind the closed door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

TWO DAYS AGO

The past year had been a burden for all of the family due to Amy missing so much work during her pregnancy and after the baby was born, but somehow they had gotten through it. T.J., or Timothy Jackson Borden, named after his grandfather, great grandfather, and father, had just turned five months old and was growing 'faster than a spring foal', as Jack saw it. His mother thought he was a perfect miniature dark haired clone of his dad and she never looked at her 'Little Man' without thinking of him. He had such a happy personality that he could win anyone's heart in a minute flat. All it took was for any person to look at him and smile, which they always did when they saw him, and T.J. would wrinkle his nose and giggle at them with those wide bluish-turning-greenish eyes sparkling over a mischievous grin. He loved the attention, and he got plenty of it.

Everyone was gathered in the dining room, sitting around the supper table like they did every evening at this time, sharing conversation regarding day to day business around the ranch. Lou and her husband Peter invariably had 'Katie' stories to share, telling about the two year old girl and what she had learned to do that day, and there was always something to talk about regarding Lou's dude ranch or how Peter's company had found a new technology for the oil industry. Jack usually just listened contently at the head of the table, asking questions to keep the chatter moving along, often holding his great grandson in his lap because the two of them had become inseparable.

Amy was once again working with horses whose owners were eager to have her practice her acclaimed 'Miracle Girl' methods to their troubled or misbehaving animals. She enjoyed giving updates to her family about her clients and of the progress she had made in solving problems between them and their horses. These things clearly gave her a sense of purpose and satisfaction that she needed to begin rebuilding her confidence which had taken a beating this past year. After conceding to the reality that she would be raising her baby alone, without the benefit of having his father there to help her financially or sharing in the unending attention her son required each day, the new life she was making for herself was finally beginning to feel more normal and offered her happiness that she had been so desperately lacking.

Tim had joined the others, as he often did. Living alone at his place, The Big River Ranch, could get lonesome for a single fifty-ish cowboy. Cooking wasn't the kind of thing he enjoyed doing for himself and he was a master at finding some excuse to be at Heartland around dinner time.

Almost everyone had finished eating and the family's daily updates were winding down. Tim was fidgeting in his chair, never a good one to withhold a juicy tidbit of news, but he was especially primed to reveal to everyone the information he had only learned about the day before. "I have some news!" he said as he reached for another helping of mashed potatoes. "An old rodeo friend of mine from the States came by to see me yesterday."

"Oh, really, I didn't think you had any friends!" Jack pointed out. "Must've come all the way to Canada to collect on an old debt, no doubt!"

Amy and Lou rolled their eyes and giggled toward each other at the comment.

"Nooo…..Jack, he just came by to say hello to his old idol…..me!" Tim crowed.

"Yeah, right!" Jack discounted the idea.

"Anyway….he was telling me about this new bull rider he saw down in Oklahoma. This guy has been winning all the big events on the southern circuit lately, practically everything in sight!"

"You mean somebody that reminded him of you, Tim? HA!" Jack couldn't pass on the chance to poke fun at his former son-in-law. He felt it kept him honest, at least as honest as he was going to get.

The past four time Canadian Professional Rodeo Association 'All-Around Cowboy' mostly ignored the comment and continued, "He said the guy likes to keep to himself, sort of a loner…..takes a lot of chances, things the other riders wouldn't think about doing…Takes the kind of risks, like maybe he doesn't care if he makes it to the next go-round, or not!"

"Kinda foolhardy, if you ask me!" said Jack.

"Story is," Tim continued, "a while back he made a _great_ ride! Meanest bull in five states! Nobody had ridden him yet! So, he goes the eight seconds and then some, jumps off the bull…..picks up a hat that one of the clowns had lost….and just stands there in the ring! Well, the bull, he spins around, takes a look at this idiot, and charges him _head on_! The guy steps to the side at the last second, matador style, takes the hat and makes a big swipe at the bull's head as he charges by, and the hat gets hooked on one of his horns. Next thing you know, the meanest bull in five states is going wild trying to get that hat off his head and this cowboy just walks away, like it was, I don't know, like it was _just another day at the office_! The bull was so riled-up that it took four wranglers several more minutes to get him out of the arena!"

"Yeah, well, the clock is ticking for that cowboy, I'd bet!" Jack said.

Tim continued, "After this guy finally decided to get himself over the fence the announcer caught up with him, and he asked him, "That was a heck of a ride! What was it like to tame the bull named "Earthquake?" and this cowboy told him, "All I can say is, that bull knows he can be ridden now, and I hope I can win enough money to buy ol' Bill over there a new hat!" Well, the crowd went _crazy_! They love this guy! They're even paying him to show up at the big rodeos now!"

"Well, he'd better spend it well while he can because he won't make it very long doing stunts like that!" reasoned Jack. "Anybody you know?" he asked.

Tim's face got more serious which was noteworthy in itself, "Yeah, as a matter of fact, we _all_ know him." Everyone gave him a puzzled look believing he had to be mistaken. Caleb was the only one they could think of who might fit the description, but that didn't sound like his style, not at all, and he swore off of bulls forever. He said they were '_A good way to get a man killed_.'

"Will you spill it already, Tim?" demanded Jack.

Tim forced the answer through his gritted teeth, "Says the name is Ty Borden!", leaving the room in complete silence as each of the others tried to imagine the insanely bold cowboy in Tim's story having materialized from the boy in the loft they had grown to know, trust, and love.

"How could he have changed so much?" Amy rejected the idea. "That _can't_ be our Ty, _can it_?"


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

PRESENT DAY

After her morning ride to the top of the hill, searching through all of the rekindled memories and trying to make sense of the unexpected twist of reality her father had sprung on her and the family only hours before, her mind was made up. Fate had presented Amy an opportunity to put to rest all of the doubts, fears, and unanswered questions left in the wake of a terrible misunderstanding between her and the father of her child. She realized that the life she had accepted and learned to love was inevitably going to change again, the only question being, in what way?

Amy rode the lathered up gelding across the fresh cut grass in front of the ranch house and halted in front of the paddock where she tied Spartan to the hitching post out front. The ride back to the barn had been a brisk one. The cowgirl and her horse both enjoyed the freedom and exhilaration following a burst of speed across the open pastures of her grandfather's ranch and the connection between them during the cool down afterward was always a time they enjoyed sharing together.

The curious trainer looked through the wooden railing of the paddock at the new arrival restlessly circling the perimeter of the corral and climbed the fence astraddle of the top rail to watch Rebel prancing nervously in the pen where Caleb had left him. '_This one's going to take some work!_' she thought as she evaluated his actions.

Hopping down from her observation post, the eager cowgirl spent the next half hour untacking Spartan and hanging his gear across the hitching post for later cleaning, putting the shimmering gelding in cross ties, and giving her large jet black companion a much deserved hosing down and thorough brushing. Rides like this one always gave her the ability to clear the accumulation of stress and worry that had a way of building up during everyday life and the horse needed the attention to help him settle down after his rider had pushed him especially hard on the way back to the ranch. It also offered Amy a chance to steady her own shaking hands before facing whoever she might encounter when she went inside to begin her new mission of filling in the empty spaces of time lost from her life over the past year.

A quick check assured her that all of the routine chores inside the barn were finished and after tossing her work gloves on the desk in Lou's office she hurriedly walked across the gravel driveway toward the front steps of the house. The urgency to fill the void of his absence and to explain to her "Little Man" that his daddy had been found had overtaken her and was pushing all of her other thoughts aside. She realized that the young boy would not understand how any of this would eventually matter to him, but all the same she wanted to hold him tightly and tell him once again about the man she had loved and shared all of her hopes and dreams with. Today she had to begin the process of tying up so many of the loose ends left hanging between them and moving on with her life. No matter how the new situation played out, T.J.'s mother knew this would change her family forever.

Lou's laptop was on the kitchen table, last time she saw it, and that is where the determined investigator was headed. T.J. was in his playpen next to Katie's in the living room. Amy went to her son, picked him up, and carried him with her to the kitchen table where the screen on the computer blankly stared back at them waiting to be used. She sat down with the infant in her lap and began to type in searches looking for the man who would mean so much to her and her family, whether he knew it or not.

Not knowing what he was doing, or where, had kept her and everyone else in the dark while searching for a man who could have been anywhere by now, nearly causing them to give up ever finding the stubborn and apparently heartbroken man who could easily stay under their radar, until now. It only took a few minutes on Google for her to find what she was after. Newspaper and rodeo magazine articles with pictures of Ty making quite a stir on the winter rodeo circuit in the Southwestern United States had recently sprung up in the internet, and apparently he was now living in Flagstaff, Arizona. After all of this lost time looking in vain, there he was, dressed as stylishly as any rodeo star she had ever seen.

"He's gone cowboy, all right!" Amy marveled. "_And….He_ _really_ _looks…._ _good_!" she said to no one in particular.

The guy in the loft who had earned his special place in her heart had been transformed into this determined stranger of a cowboy, and a little prang went through her as she noticed his once soft green eyes she so dearly loved somehow seeming colder than before.

She thought back to when Ty was living at the ranch. He mostly wore printed tee shirts, jeans, and motorcycle boots. He told Amy once that he was more into riding motorcycles than horses, and cowboy hats were just not his thing. To her complete amazement, he must have decided to go all-in and change everything about who he appeared to be, if not who he was.

"Look T.J., that's your _daddy_, right there!" The little boy grinned at his momma, his usual response to her talking to him. Seeing them together for the first time with a current photo of his daddy to compare to, Amy was getting misty eyed looking at the man in the pictures. It was amazing just how much of a spitting image her small son was to him, thinking that Ty must have looked just like him when he was a child.

Lou overheard her younger sister's excitement at whatever she had discovered on the laptop. She moved behind the two sitting at the table and looked over Amy's shoulder with her jaw dropping at the sight of the former juvenile delinquent ranch hand-turned-rodeo-star.

"Oh…. My…. God….._Look at_ _him_!" she was taken aback. "Who would have ever thought? I wonder if Caleb knows that Ty probably now has more buckles than him? Wow!…. He _does_ look good as a cowboy, doesn't he, Amy?" Lou marveled with wide eyed amusement.

"Yeah…, looks pretty good for someone hell bent to try and kill himself riding those damn bulls!" Amy thought out loud.

There was a link to the rodeo circuit's schedule on one of the pages and when she clicked on it she saw there was to be an upcoming event one week from this coming Saturday in Great Falls, Montana. After opening another link to Google Maps she studied the results as the plan was being hatched in her head, "Hummm, three hundred and twelve miles…, five hundred and five kilometers. Looks like five hours or so to make it there," the 'Directions' query showed her.

Ty was one of the riders advertised as entered and guaranteed to be there. While she wrote down the information, Jack walked through the front door and was hanging his hat in the mud room before entering the kitchen to see what his granddaughters were so interested in at the table.

"Grandpa, you need to come here and look at this!" Both his granddaughters pleaded excitedly in unison.

"What is all the fuss about?" as he looked opposite Lou over Amy's other shoulder at the laptop's screen. "Well…..would you look at that!" Jack was relieved to finally see his former ranch hand and friend in one piece, and apparently doing OK for himself.

"Grandpa, I need to be in Great Falls one week form this Saturday! It says here that Ty is going to be there and…..well…..don't you think I need to see him…face to face…..and tell him everything that has happened?

Jack thoughtfully considered his reply. "Amy, you want to be very careful here…, with how you handle this." Jack reasoned. "You know he left here thinking that you took up with Chase. There isn't any telling what he has been thinking all of this time. He may even believe you are still with Chase…..and, I hate to say it, but…..when you tell him about this baby, his son, there is a possibility that he is not going to believe that your son _his_. Have you considered any of this yet? It looks like he felt strongly enough about whatever was eating at him to do something as stupid as riding those damn bulls!"

As Jack looked into Amy's eyes he could tell how badly she needed to make some kind of effort to break the news to T.J.'s daddy that he _did_ in fact have a son.

"Don't you worry," he said in his comforting tone. "We will figure it out…..and we will do it together, if you want."

"That was what I was hoping you would say! I love you, Grandpa!" Amy reached out her free arm to give her favorite old cowboy a hug.

"There is just one more thing." Jack warned. "We need to keep your father out of this, at all cost! The last thing any of us needs right now is to have Tim get his nose out of joint and get to Ty before we do. All I am trying to say is…..do NOT say a word about any of this to him. If he tries to leave before we do, stop him, no, _shoot_ him if you have to!"

"Grandpa! …Y-Youuu….never mind," Amy conceded. "You may have a point!" They all laughed together at cartoonish vision of it all unfolding.

When she had found all of the information she needed, Amy gathered her baby up in her arms to go outside to the bench on the front porch. "Wow, not what I expected! I wonder what your daddy is thinking about right now?" she told the sleepy little boy in her lap. "I hope he hasn't lost what was in his heart. He had a _good_ heart, T.J. I think maybe you take after him, the way you look for the best in people and seem so happy and determined in a natural way. That's the way he was…, and I hope he still is." The infant was sleeping soundly now. It reminded her of the last peaceful evening she spent with T. J.'s dad on the sofa in front of the fireplace with Ty sleeping in her arms, just like this.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

- _TY'S POINT OF VIEW_ -

Ty awoke to the bright streak of sunlight poking its way through the curtains on the east side of his camper trailer. He was still getting used to the unfamiliar surroundings of his new travel accommodations, but he thought it was very comfortable, and most of all, quiet. Most ordinary people would consider this 'roughing it', he supposed, but after living for four years in the drafty loft of an old faded red barn above stalls full of horses, this was a pretty good place to be.

His rig was still parked that Thursday morning at the Cody Stampede Rodeo grounds after another pair of first place buckles the Saturday and Sunday night before. There was almost always an opportunity to work with a local vet for a few days in between events. He could earn a little extra cash and it helped to pass the time before he had to hit the road to the city hosting the next rodeo, not to mention the new friends he enjoyed meeting along the way.

The northern swing of the summer tour was nearing an end. Ty was feeling a little antsy because he had not been this far north in many months. It felt strange to be getting this close to 'home', he thought. It had occurred to him recently that he now thought of Alberta and Hudson in particular as home. He often daydreamed of the time he spent at Heartland Ranch and pictured in his head where he might have been right now if he hadn't been picked by Marion Fleming to work the remainder of his probation at the ranch, and what would his life be like right now if things had worked out with Amy? _'Dammit anyways….how could I ever let myself think that somebody like her would want to settle down with a dumbass loser like me?'_

Ty made the rounds to look after the animals for the "Circus", as he called the promotion company that owned the rodeo, before they were to be transported to the next event, and then spent the next hour putting his things away and preparing his camper for travel. There was a truck stop outside of town and a hot breakfast sounded good before he hit the road toward the next temporary residence for a few days, Great Falls, Montana.

After downing what he considered better than average biscuits, gravy, ham, eggs, and coffee, he made one more circle around the trailer to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything before he hit the road. Leaving a new town for another new town every few days was a lot of fun in the beginning of the year when he needed the distraction of something new and exciting to help him find a reason to exist, but was now turning into a lot of long, drawn out, hard work. Today he was looking at about 315 miles and six hours before he would set up shop at the new destination later in the evening.

* * *

><p>Ty had plenty of time to think about things while he rolled down the highway alone. Usually it put him at ease to have the time to chill out and be away from the crowds of rodeo fans and responsibilities of taking care of so many animals, but today he sensed a strange feeling which was nagging at the far side of his thoughts, not really sure what it was. Memories, both treasured and hated, were beginning to thrash around inside his head like the inner works of the truck's engine straining to pull its load up and down the steep grades of the highway. Neither version held his attention for more than a few minutes at a time before a new recollection would snap in place to overtake the previous one. As he closed the distance to the Canadian line, and Hudson not all that far beyond, the feeling seemed to grip him tighter with each sign reminding him how much farther north he was getting. The people that he had left behind were dominating his 'brain' time as the center stripes on the road rolled steadily by. "I wonder what things are like back at Heartland these days? I hope everyone is well and they are all doing OK." he said to himself.<p>

Ty had been holding a grudge for a year, serious enough to cause him to change his life and how he looked at his future. His heartbeat still pounded in his chest each time he thought about how Amy had chosen Chase Powers over him, but then again, what did he really have to offer her in comparison to the flashy, popular, and relatively rich cowboy? "I _really_ hate that guy." he spoke after every thought of the man. _'There is no way he could love Amy the way I do…, did…, hell, I don't know! Whatever! The jackass is too much in love with himself to make room for anyone else in his life.' _

The increasingly homesick rodeo star was closing in on his destination when it occurred to him that he was trying to subconsciously bargain with himself as to whether or not he should go across the border, after Great Falls, and check in on his adopted family. He knew he would love to see Jack and Lou along with all of his old friends. If only he didn't have to see Amy, not that he minded seeing her, but seeing her with Chase was still a situation he needed to avoid. There was also the story he heard about Amy now having a baby…, _Chase's baby! _He knew beyond any reasoning that he could not take seeing her with Chase's kid in her arms. That was the deal breaker, just too much to ask. _'Nah…. that would just be too awkward, and I wouldn't know what to say to any of them after I left like that….for the second time. They have probably moved on and don't even think of me anymore, if they don't outright hate me.'_ he worried with a sprinkling of regret.

* * *

><p>Upon arriving at the rodeo grounds and finding a place to park his rig, Ty then went to the back of the complex to find the bulls, cattle, and horses to see if any of them needed anything before he settled in for the night.<p>

As he zigzagged between the pens a teasing voice behind him said,"Hey, Ty, I see you finally made it OK."

The bull rider currently acting as a roaming veterinarian turned to see Jessie, the reigning "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" coming up behind him. She was dressed, as always, in a flashy western shirt with fringe on the sleeves, tight jeans, and of course the big cowboy hat with turquoise and silver trim, complete with a couple of big feathers, which matched her earrings.

"Hey, Jessie, you here already?" he said guardedly.

"Yeah, it was an easy trip. A couple of my friends from university showed up at Cody and they rode along with me on the way up. We got an early start and did some sightseeing on the way."

"Well, you should have had a great time, then. There are some really beautiful places in this part of the country," he told the cowgirl princess.

"Only thing that would have made it better is if I was riding with _you_, Tyler Borden!"

"Oh, I don't know, Jessie, you would get bored with the way I travel. I mostly just drive down the road and think. I'm afraid I wouldn't be very good company for you."

"We will just have to see about that one of these days, won't we?" she said, disappointed.

Ty offered a shrug in response to the normally persistent woman. _'She is alright, I guess, but I don't think I could keep up with her lifestyle.'_ he figured in his head.

* * *

><p><em>Saturday had come and Ty-the-Vet spent most of the day working with the stock to make sure they were all ready to go at "Showtime", as he called it. None of the animals were in need of extra attention, <em>'So it should be an easy, uneventful day',<em> he thought._

Every once in a while a fan would find the popular cowboy walking between one of several stock pens and the company trailer where he kept his vet supplies and equipment. Most people were polite and seemed really thrilled to meet him. He always tried to put his best foot forward for his fans. He wouldn't want to snub any of them, _'It just wouldn't be right.'_

"What are you going to do next?" A boy that Ty assumed to be about ten years old had wondered up and asked him, apparently referring to the crazy stunts that he was becoming known for.

"You just never know what may come next! A lot depends on the bull…..if he's in the mood to give me a good ride, anything can happen. Maybe we can score lots of points tonight and put on a good show," he told the young fan. "So, am I going to be hearing you yell for me when I come out of the gate?"

"You bet, Mr. Borden."

"What's your name, buddy?"

"I'm Kyle…..Kyle Waggoner. Would you please sign this program for me?"

"Well, Kyle Waggoner, it is a pleasure to meet you, and you can call me Ty. All of my friends do! Here, let me see that program."

Although he was still learning to grasp the fact that people would actually seek _him_ out for something like this, he signed his 'showbiz' signature beside a picture of himself and handed the paper back to the star struck little cowboy who shook his hand vigorously and scampered back to his parents who were chuckling at the boy from the bottom of stairs beside the grandstand. He shared a wink and a wave with the young fan's folks who waived back in appreciation for the gesture which made their son's day and then made his way back to his trailer to shower and change into his "Ty-the-Cowboy-Star" clothes. He had clothing companies bringing him their newest and most expensive shirts, jeans, and hats to wear when the crowd showed up to watch.

"A little over the top for my taste, but maybe I don't look too bad, eh?" he complimented himself with a chuckle into the mirror.

* * *

><p>The crowd was filing into the arena complex in large numbers as Ty walked by the holding pens. He couldn't eat before he rode, his nerves would get the best of him if he did, so he usually tried to find a place to be alone, if possible, and get his game face on. Often he went to the pen holding the bulls so he could find the one he had drawn for his next ride. His normal routine was to lean against the fence, one foot on the bottom rail, and softly begin talking to the animal. He doubted that it did either one of them any good, but he felt better about preparing for the go-'round like this. Some of the other cowboys noticed the practice and would joke about it among themselves. Ty had heard of them talking about his 'bull whispering', but he didn't really care what they thought. If he kept on this winning streak, he figured they would all be lined up along the rail trying to learn to speak to the bulls themselves.<p>

The rodeo veterinarian-bull rider stopped along the way to see a couple of his favorite horses. He stood there for a while with a beautiful bay, sliding his palm up and down the horses' nose while he softly spoke to him like he was an old friend that he had been missing a lot lately. The gelding enjoyed the attention and began to nudge Ty's shoulder if he stopped rubbing for more than a couple of seconds. It made him think of his horse, Harley, the one he left behind at Heartland, who would get impatient with him exactly the same way. Right now it seemed like such a long time ago that he had gotten to spend time with his equine confidant, the horse that had spent many hours listening to a much younger ranch hand work out all of the troubles adapting to a new family and a new way of life.

His mind took him there again as an escape from the pressure that was building in anticipation of the expected performance she would soon provide for all of the people milling around the grandstands which were now filled to the top. He remembered the time shortly after feeling rejected and humiliated at his former home and his search for a place to hide out for a while in British Columbia before he finally decided to head south and try settling far away in the States. He had sent Harley's papers back to the ranch. He knew the first horse he ever owned would get the best possible care there, and he remembered the note he had included with the papers.

_Jack, _

_I want to thank you for all you have done to help me when I needed it most. I know that my coming to Heartland was brought about by Marion's kind heart, but you and the girls could have easily sent me on my way when I showed up at the ranch that day. I was a lost and lonely kid who was heading down a bad road in life. Instead, you took me in, even after Marion was taken away by the accident. Please tell everyone there at the ranch I said 'thank you' for putting up with me for all those years, for letting me know and experience the feeling of having had a family for a little while, and for saving my life when I was about to give up._

_I have sent you the papers for Harley and the Norton. I had them notarized and all you need to do is sign them to make it official. I know they are both in good hands there with all of you at Heartland._

_Yours truly,_

_Ty_

* * *

><p>Trying to regain his present situation and begin the process of preparing his mind to "Do battle with Nature's Fury", as the announcer often called a riders attempt to spend eight seconds on the back of a pissed off bull, Ty bent down to feel the paints' legs checking for any swelling or heat, then gently brushed his back and patted him on the neck to calm himself as much as the horse. He was still lost in his thoughts about the only family he had ever known, wondering if he would ever find a way to have a family of his own someday, when he heard approaching footsteps from behind. It sounded like whoever it was had stopped walking and he was just about to turn around to see who was there when a jolt shot through him from head to toe after he heard a weak but familiar "Ty?"<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

- AMY'S POINT OF VIEW –

A crimson haze was just beginning to spread across the skies beyond the hill that separated Heartland Ranch from the prairie to the east. The reddish-golden glow intensified by the minute, ever changing as a natural kaleidoscope of clouds intensely backlit by the rising sun, revealing the awesome vastness of yet another breathtaking Alberta morning sky. While the day awakened all around Amy as she began her not so normal routine in and around the barn, the lifelong ranchers' granddaughter stopped to take in the wonder of a new day so dramatically announced by a force much larger than her and everything she knew, appreciating one of life's most awesome gifts as an uplifting way to begin the journey that would surely prove to set the course for the rest of her life.

The restless single mother didn't sleep a wink last night, too excited, too worried about the changes that would certainly come this evening as a result of the much anticipated intercession with her lost love at the rodeo in Great Falls. "Boy, is your old buddy going to be surprised!" she told Harley as she tossed a fresh flake of hay into his stall and patted his neck when he swung his head over the gate to show his appreciation. "I hope he takes the news well," Amy confided to the horse that had played a huge part in the regeneration of the young man who needed to find his purpose in life after he came to live with the family, and her, at the ranch. As she turned to fetch another handful of hay for Spartan the lonesome horse playfully nodded and poked her shoulder when she tried to walk away. Returning to the gate, she scratched his nose with her shaking hands, "I'll bet he misses you too!"

Amy realized that somehow Harley knew today was a special day and that his caretaker was especially nervous. "Well, boy, I know things haven't been the way we wanted them to be lately, but I am going to see what I can do about that today! Maybe you'll get a visit from your best buddy soon!" she told the horse in high hopes for a positive outcome of her effort to make everything right again, or at least to have a more definite direction. "I would like that, too!"

* * *

><p>At seven a.m. sharp Jack's old Chevy truck rolled up the driveway toward Highway 22, the old cowboy trail, and cut across the foothills to Highway 2, and then south across the prairie for the next few hours. Canola fields were displaying their brilliant yellow blossoms for miles on end and the grass was always greenest this time of year. The Canadian Rockies were clear off to the West, rising until the snowcapped peaks met the crystal blue sky above.<p>

"It couldn't be a better day for travelling," Jack's anxious granddaughter told him while watching it all pass by through her side window. "It should be really nice tonight, too," trying to find a pleasant distraction to keep her mind from melting down with all of the thoughts spinning around inside her head.

"It sure is! It would be hard to find a place as beautiful as this, no matter where you go!" Jack said proudly of his Alberta home.

Amy's mind was bouncing around from wondering how the meeting with Ty might turn out this evening to worrying if T.J. was content without her being there for him. It was the first time he would not see his mother for a whole day, and she figured he would catch on that something was different with the day right about now.

"I should call home and check in on Lou. T.J. is not going to be happy about all of this!"

"Now, Amy, I'm sure Lou has everything under control. I wouldn't worry about a thing back home. You have plenty to be thinking about for yourself and for that little boy of yours, you know, like, are you sure you have a good plan for when you finally see Ty this evening?" he reminded her.

"But, Grandpa…, Oh My God!" she exclaimed, "I've turned into Lou!"

Jack chuckled to himself, visualizing Lou in one of her worrying fits. The thought of a more conservative Amy in the same role was really humorous to him.

The worried mother pushed Lou's number on speed dial, still wanting to make sure all was well at home.

"I wondered how long it would take you," Lou laughed at her sister when she answered the call.

"I know, but I can't help it," the younger Fleming sister confessed. "Now I get it, how you are always worrying about everybody and needing to know everything is O.K."

"We are fine, Sis! T.J. and Katie are already finished with breakfast and playing in their pens right beside me here at the table. We are all going to take advantage of this beautiful day and go down by the river for a picnic, like Mom did with us when she wanted to treat us to a special day. It _really_ _is_ a special day, Amy. I am praying for you and Ty, that you have a good talk when you see him," Lou said with hopes of encouraging her sister and wishing her well. The big sister could sense that Amy was about to choke up so she spoke quickly, "I love you, Amy, we all do, and I know everything is going to be O.K. Don't you worry about us today….I will make sure your son stays busy and knows that he is loved….just do what you can to make sure he gets to meet his daddy soon, that is the most important thing!"

* * *

><p>After crossing the border into the USA, Great Falls, Montana was no longer a whole world away. Amy's heartbeat picked up its rhythm a notch as the distance to their destination continued to narrow. She was trying to imagine how she would approach her estranged boyfriend. <em>'Boyfriend...<em>, _humph_, _he was much more to her than that!' _she thought. Of course she hoped that seeing Ty again would be as pleasant as possible, but they had been apart for so long now that she wondered if they would even know how to talk to each other anymore. They used to have such a special bond and they were best of friends long before they were lovers. They trusted each other with all of their secrets, hopes, and dreams. What wouldn't she give to have someone like that in her life again? It just made everything easier knowing that someone really had your best interest at heart, always had your back, no matter what.

The nervous cowgirl tried to maintain a positive attitude and appreciated the encouragement from her supportive grandfather, but she couldn't shake the worry that this day could turn out to be a total disaster. Jack pulled into a decent looking motel at the edge of town and got each of them a room for the night. They took an hour to have a late lunch and go over the plan one more time. They would each scout around the grounds, get a lay of the land, so to speak, to see if they could locate where Ty might be.

"I saw an endorsement ad on one of the online rodeo websites. It said that he has a fancy new camper trailer as his living quarters, so he should be with all the other rodeo cowboys in a special camping area close to the rodeo grounds." Amy said. "I think when we find him, Grandpa…..maybe it would be best that you should approach him first. He has too much respect toward you to bolt or refuse to see you, I mean..., there would be a better chance for you to turn the first meeting into a conversation. Then, if he is willing, I will get my chance to tell Ty about his son. I really want to try and set things right between us, to tell him what really happened that night at the horse clinic in Calgary. I don't know if he will ever trust me after all this time, but I have to at least try. I really do believe that he would want to get to know his little boy."

"I think that sounds about right, Jack reasoned. "I'm pretty sure I can get him to talk to me. Always could."

"Make sure your cell phone is charged, so we can keep in contact with each other while we are looking," Amy suggested.

After they finished at the restaurant they each went to their respective rooms to get ready to set the plan in motion. Amy took a shower and put on some new clothes that Lou helped her pick out at one of the better stores in Calgary. She was just now getting back into a size that suited her, more like her old figure. _'At least Ty didn't have to look at me when I was so darn large.'_ The new mom was thankful for that, at least. She applied some makeup and took the time to make sure she was fixed up as nice as she could be. "Ohhhh Kaaay. I think we are ready!" she said, trying to build up to the task.

* * *

><p>When they got inside the rodeo complex, Amy and Jack split up to make the best use of their limited time to locate Ty. Jack would ask around the arena and stock pens, Amy would walk through the campers on the other side and see if anybody there would point her in the right direction. If she found her former boyfriend, she would call her Grandpa in order to meet up and get ready to try and talk with him.<p>

It took the female private eye about ten minutes to strike up a conversation with an attractive young lady wearing a sash proclaiming her to be the current 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo.'

"Hey, there! You seem to be looking for someone? Maybe I can help? I've been travelin' around with this crowd for a few months now, so I know most of them. I'm Jessie, by the way."

"Amy," she said as she reached out her hand to introduce herself. "Oh, Thank you! Yes, I _am_ looking for someone, _Ummm_…..Ty Borden. Do you know him?"

The rodeo poster girl let out a slow, cynical giggle, "Ohhhh Yeahhhhh, you and every other girl in the Western States, and from what I hear, Canada too!"

That threw Amy off for a couple of beats. "Uh, really? I mean…..I'm….ummm…."

Jesse stepped in, "Listen, Amy, there are a lot of girls looking for Ty Borden, but let me save you some trouble. He is a really sweet guy, one of the best, but to tell the truth, he hardly ever goes out on dates. I heard something about a girl back there in Alberta, that's where he's from, must've broken his heart some kind of bad. He keeps to himself most of the time. Just studies for tests for his vet school. He takes care of the livestock for the company, I mean the rodeo promotion company. He's a Veterinarian, you know. He loves those animals…, does a good job with them, too. Many a cowgirl has taken a run at him, but I just don't think he is interested right now."

"No….I really _am_ an old friend of his. I have known him for a long time but I haven't seen him for quite a while and…..since he finally came close enough to home that we could come to see him…..."

"OK, Amy…Look, this time of the day, you should try over by the corral were the horses are. I see him there a lot. Just look for the best lookin' cowboy you can find, probably leaning on the fence and talkin' to the horses like they understand him. Just something he does."

"Oh…OK, thanks. I appreciate your help." Amy told her, smiling with the thought that she knew very well where Ty learned to talk to animals.

"No problem, girl. Oh, you didn't say where you were from?"

"I'm from _Alberta_!" she proudly said as she walked away with just a bit of a smile tugging at the edge of her lips while Jessie's forehead formed a curious wrinkle between her eyebrows, trying to size up the new arrival from the mysterious cowboys past.

Amy carefully paced forward, her heart beating so hard that she could feel its pulse thumping in her eardrums._ 'Just find him and call Grandpa, don't let him see you yet!'_ she reminded herself of the plan. Her eyes roamed carefully through the scattering of people wandering around among the livestock, and then she caught a glimpse of a familiar form kneeling beside one of the horses and feeling its ankles. There was no mistaking his movements as he stood and gently ran his hand along the appreciative horses back and then patted his neck. She'd seen him do it hundreds of times and the sight of him caused her heart to leap into her throat, thankful that his tenderness hadn't left him yet. He did seem strangely different though, with the western shirt, cowboy hat, and _even cowboy boots_. This _'real deal'_ confident cowboy would take some getting used to!

The phone trembled in her hands, ready to dial her Grandfather to come and take over, but Amy fumbled around the keypad and somehow couldn't make herself push the buttons. She watched for what seemed like a couple of minutes, unable to concentrate on anything or anybody else. Finally deciding that she could not take it any longer, not with coming this close after all this time, she waited until they were free from passersby and slowly stepped to within five feet of him. There were a couple of false starts getting her voice to cooperate, but on the third try came a near whisper…,"Ty?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A lightning bolt ran through Ty's body at the sound of the voice he knew so well. He turned slowly, prepared to be disappointed again because he had lost count of the times his heart skipped a few beats when he had encountered someone in the crowd who moved, looked, or sounded like the love he left in Calgary, only to be disappointed by his overactive imagination and unfulfilled desire to see her again someday and settle unfinished things between them.

"A-Amy? It's really you? Wha….What are you doing here?" he asked as he reached for the top rail on the fence behind him, hoping for something substantial to help him reagain his balance in fear that he might embarrass himself by falling over backwards in total shock at seeing her there so close after such a long time and distance between them.

"Hey,…..I...uhh…._We_ heard you were going to be this close to home and we decided to come and see you!" she tried to explain without giving away too much, too soon.

"We?…, S-s-so, I can't believe that you got _Chase_ to bring you all the way down here for a rodeo?"

"No, Ty…, j_ust me and Grandpa!" _she quietly attempted to deflect the tension she sensed escalating in the estranged cowboy." There is no Chase! Never was!Oh, shoot, I forgot! Grandpa is somewhere out here looking for you too! I really should call him and tell him where we are so he can find us," she remembered as she held her phone up between them as if to ask for permission to interrupt the conversation and call him.

"Is everybody OK? I-I'm just….I'm kind of blown away to see you here, so far from home!" Ty questioned.

"No! Don't worry! Everybody back home is fine! It's just….I can't….I can't begin to tell you how much…"

His nervous former girlfriend stopped mid-sentence to look at the reason Ty pointed behind her. Jack had spotted them and was making his way through the maze of corrals, trailers, and fans who were aimlessly gawking at the livestock while looking for an opportunity to score an autograph from one of the rodeo personalities they had travelled here to see.

"Ty Borden…,'Rodeo Star'!" Jack laughed at his long lost friend and ranch hand. "How've you been keepin'?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, Jack," he smiled and offered his hand to the man who had shown him how much better his life would have been if only he had known a more stable father in his earlier years. "Things are pretty crazy, traveling town to town and being a regular cowboy. Turns out, the rodeo has been good to me. Who would' a thought!

"So I hear! Damn, Ty, it sure is good to see you!" the old rancher said with a slap on the young man's shoulder.

Amy smiled at seeing two of her favorite people reunited after being separated for so long. "Ty, I hope we get a chance talk for a while, as soon as you get a little time…, we…, me and Grandpa, would both love to do some catching up!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now, Amy. The first go-'round is in a few minutes and I have a date with ol' "Widow Maker" over there. That's my draw for this ride."

"Oh, it's OK, I didn't mean right this minute!" she attempted to puff out a laugh even though another minute was too long for her to put off the impending conversation after being without him for so long. "Soooo…, Bulls? _Really, Ty_?" Amy challenged him with one eyebrow raised in an attempt at a playful assessment of his new career.

"Well…..I don't know what to tell you about that, other than I just needed to work some things out."

"Work things out? Is that what you call it?" she tried not to mock him to the extent that he felt offended. "Sounds like you have found a talent you didn't know you had!"

"Talent? I don't think I have heard it called that, yet!" he said. "More like I'm too scared to fall off, knowing what comes after that if the bull catches up with me!"

"Yeah, about that! I hear that you don't make much of an effort to get the hell out of there after you hit the ground, like all of the _smart_ riders do," Jack interjected.

"But, that's part of what _I_ have that the others don't. You see, there was this girl I used to know that taught me how to talk to animals…, weirdest thing I ever saw, but, I have to tell you, _it works!" _he theatrically played up the scenario_. "_I spend a little bit of time with the bulls before we go out into the arena, telling them how I want things to go when that gate opens, and most of the time, it all goes to plan!"

Amy felt sick to her stomach at the image of her first love tempting fate in such a way. "Will you take care of yourself out there? You know, for the people who care about you, if not for yourself." she pleaded.

"People…, who care about _me_? I didn't think there were any of those left these days," he said, half kidding, half not.

"I mean it, Ty…..I'm serious!" she said, trying to hold back a desperate burst of tears.

"The problem with that, Amy, is there's no points or money to be made when you take it easy," he said matter of factly, but then softened when he saw that she was genuinely afraid for him. "OK…, ok…," he said as he raised his hands in surrender to reassure the girl he once loved and who had become this beautiful young woman since he had last seen her, "I'm sorry, Amy. Just for _whoever_ those people might be, I will ask ol' 'Widow Maker' over there to be gentle with me," he downplayed the situation as he took a few steps toward the pen that held the waiting bulls. He stopped and turned to take one more look at his first love that would always be to him the one that got away. She looked terrified and he could _never_ bear to see her like that. He let out a breath and then suggested, "If you would like, meet me at my trailer after the last ride. It's the new white one parked down by the pond at the back of the lot, has my name written by the door. I will buy you two a nice steak and we can catch up then. How's that sound?"

"I'll be waiting." she assured him. "And so will Grandpa!" she tossed in, thinking that if her own wishes weren't good enough to sway his effort to take care of himself that possibly knowing the one man Ty looked up to most of all was here to see him as well.

* * *

><p>"Amy! I thought you were going to wait for me!" Jack said sharply to his over-eager granddaughter.<p>

"Grandpa, I saw him…, and I just couldn't walk away without saying something to him!" she said in defense of the look her co-conspirator was giving her. "I know, Grandpa…., I'm sorry! I happened upon him working with the horses over there…, and seeing him like that…, it brought back so many memories…, I just couldn't let it go!"

"Listen, Amy, I sure do wish you would have held up on letting Ty know we are here until after he had finished riding those damn bulls!" he reprimanded. "You have to understand, what he is doing is extremely dangerous and he needs to be focused on the ride. If his mind isn't completely where it belongs…, he could make a mistake that could get him hurt…, or _worse!_"

"Oh, Grandpa! What if something happens to him because I distracted him?"

"We will just have to trust that he knows what he is doing and that he will pay attention and take care of himself. He's no fool, Amy, everything is going to be all right," he assured the near panic stricken young woman.

The Canadian duo climbed the stairs at the center of the grandstands as Amy eagerly punched the keypad on her phone to call home and fill Lou in with details of their adventure, and to see how her son was handling her absence. The first rider burst out of the gate at the far end of the arena as the opening calf roping event got under way, forcing her to raise her voice in reply to her anxious sister's interrogation about any progress the two of them had made while in Montana.

"Well, how did he take it when he figured out you were there to see him?" Lou eagerly asked without even saying 'hello'.

"OK, I think. He was surprised, like I expected, but I think he was good with my, or _with us_, being here," she said, filled with hope and giddy with anticipation.

"Did you get to talk to him? What did you say? Is he friendly to you, or is he still pissed? What is Grandp…"

"Whoa, Lou! I can't keep up!"

"Oh, sorry…., I just can't imagine what he thought when he saw you!"

"We only spoke for a few minutes before he had to get ready for the first go-'round. He seemed fine, better than I expected. He suggested we meet him at his camper after he is finished riding. Told us he is going to buy us a steak and we can talk all we want then! Now that I think of it, I'd say he probably hasn't eaten anything since breakfast. He never could keep any food down when he gets really worked up, like he must be right now," she remembered. "Well, how did you make it today with T.J.?" asked his mother.

"We – had – a - _fantastic_ day, Amy! We _all_ had _so_ much fun! The kids played at the river until they passed out from exhaustion. I let them sleep for a couple of hours before we headed back to the house. I finally got the chance to do a little reading while they were quiet. It is soooo peaceful down there!"

"No problems with T.J. missing me?" she asked, almost hurt that her son was so content without her hovering over him.

"Just one little episode, before he had his nap," she assured the worried mother. "He was just tired and didn't want to stop playing. He looked for you several times and cried for a while, but I was able to distract him and get his mind on other things."

"Oh, that's good! I'm glad you all made it OK today!"

"Don't worry about anything here, Amy, just concentrate on what you need to do later tonight, OK?" Lou encouraged her sister.

"Yeah, that's the plan!" said Amy.

* * *

><p>The arena stirred with excitement as the announcer began to build up the third rider while he climbed astraddle of the stomping bull in the chute at the center of the grandstands. <em>"And now, ladies and gentlemen, coming up next, get ready for the hottest cowboy on the circuit right now, recently taking the championship points lead for the season, give a yell for the bull rider who you just gotta know will give it everything he's got…, from all the way up there in Alberta, Canada<em>…, _TY BORDEN!" _

He had to admit that when the crowd started to recognize him and began to cheer at the mention of his name, it was a special feeling, one that he had never experienced before now. He _mattered _to people.

Amy stood in reaction to the excitement of the crowd, then plopped back down to her seat because she didn't think she could bear the sight of Ty flailing around on the back of a raging beast as he had done a few years ago at the Hudson Rodeo, an ill-planned retaliation to the attention she was giving another cowboy, but then stood again, hoping that her watching might somehow protect him from anything that could get him hurt.

The first two go-'rounds were normal rides for Ty. He figured he was a little 'off' because of the surprise he had encountered only a few minutes before the first bull sent him to the ground in a swirl of dust, but he had gotten himself back together before the second go 'round and managed a textbook full ride to make up for the initial failure.

As a young man looking for an escape from a life that seemed to always knock him down just as he was beginning to have hope for better things, he had discovered a feeling of exhilaration and accomplishment from the experience of riding bulls for sport, no longer dreading each ride, but instead, looking forward to it. Another competitor was tied with the rodeo vet/cowboy leading up to the final round and now it was time to settle who was going to get the this evenings buckle.

The center gate flew open at Ty's nod and he gave a kick to the bulls' ribs to commence the eight seconds of sheer terror that would follow.

In an angry display of might, the two ton animal threw his rear hooves nearly vertical for several dramatic kicks, then jerked his head to the left and spun into a tight bucking spiral which became a difficult balancing act for the notoriously brave cowboy to stay aboard and away from the thrashing hooves pulverizing the earth below them. This time, however, the rider was up to the challenge and managed to make the allotted time, and a couple of seconds more, before successfully timing his exit into a perfect three point landing with his butt and shiny new boots bouncing into the soft dirt simultaneously. Choosing to wear only a cowboy hat instead of the full face helmet that most of the riders were wearing these days, he picked the spanking new $150 'Boss of the Plains' Stetson out of the dirt and shook off the brim, and then stood there waiting for the bull to realize his passenger had departed company and had stopped to see what had happened to him. They both stood their ground, staring each other down for a few terrifying seconds for the fans and friends watching from the bleachers, and then ol' 'Widow Maker' had had enough and pawed at the dirt underneath him twice before charging his relatively small challenger with a full head of steam. Screams of terror rose from the crowd as the bull neared the cowboy who stood calmly in the center of the ring. Just as the bull took aim with his right horn, the Albertan rodeo-cowboy-turned-matador gracefully twisted to the side and swiped his hat perfectly onto the projectile as it impaled the no longer new felt Stetson. The raging bull bounced to the other end of the arena comically sporting his new attire, now demoted into performing the part of an impromptu rodeo clown.

The grandstands shook with noise from the disbelieving fans as they laughed, cheered, clapped, and hollered their approval to Ty Borden, 'Rodeo Cowboy', when he broke into a dead run and cleared the fence to escape any retaliation from his disgraced opponent.

Amy steadied herself against her Grandpa, her knees nearly buckling from under her. Jack caught her and helped her sit down, and then he put his arm around her shoulders as he sat beside her.

"It's OK, Amy, everything is all right now…, he's OK…," was all he could get out before his pale-gray granddaughter caught her breath enough to speak.

"_What-the-hell-is-he-thinking_, _Grandpa_?" she shrieked. She had watched many bull rides, but this was insane! "How long does he think he can get away with this…, this…, whatever the hell this is, before one of those bulls stomps the crap out of him?"

"I know, Amy, it scared the hell out of me too, but I don't know what any of us can do about it right now," he said.

Amy and Jack were waiting at the camper when Ty approached from the office, looking down at his new "Bull Riding Champion, Great Falls Rodeo" buckle and clutching an envelope containing his winnings for the night.

"Like stealing candy from a baby!" he said, trying to soften the looks he received from the two waiting friends from back home.

Amy was livid and not amused by his antics, obvious by the 'What the hell was that!' look plastered all over her face, and Jack showed his poker face, with no particular sign of his mood, although Ty figured he could easily guess what was on his mind.

"OK, steaks on the house, thanks to the kind people of Great Falls, Montana!" he said, still trying to crack the ice in Amy's glare. "C'mon, Amy, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"_You dumbass_! Are you looking for a way to kill yourself, in front of a thousand people?"

"Well, actually…," he tried to respond.

"Do you not have any regard to your own safety, or to the feelings of the people who love you? You have no idea, Ty! You still have a family back there in Hudson! We all love you! How do you think we would feel if something happened to you, doing something _this stupid_? How would you feel, knowing that you got yourself stomped to death by some damn bull at some damn rodeo and I had to _explain that to your son_!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ty had been struck by lightning twice in one day, emotional exclamation points on either end of his life or death dance with two thousand pounds of custom bred Longhorn-Brahman mix, which seemed extraordinarily insignificant at the moment.

"Did you just say that I have a son?" His eyes darted back and forth between the two most trusted people and best friends he had ever known, trying to reel in the idea of what his former girlfriend had just cast out to him. "Amy? What are you talking about?" Had anyone else said such a thing to him he would have laughed out loud, but he did not need any further affirmation than to look into the blue eyes he remembered so well and the tears rolling across her reddened cheeks. He instinctively glanced toward Jack to try and get a read on him to see if the mood was relief, worry, or outright anger, but he could tell that his trusted teacher in life was just happy to see him and relief seemed to be winning at the moment.

Courageous cowboy or not, the air had been crushed out of him. _'How could this be possible? Well, I know how! But…, when?…, Is she sure that he is mine? Oh, can't ask that or shit's gonna hit the fan, for sure! Damn! How old is he? What does he look like? What am I supposed to do now? Damn! What do I say to her? I gotta go see him! _

The current depiction of every rodeo kid's idol was now the perfect picture of dumbfounded, if you were to look it up, because he had no idea of what to make of this news, what he should say, or what he was going to do about it. A thousand thoughts clogged the outward passage of the bewildered young man's emotions, leaving the two anxious bearers of the life changing news marooned and waiting for some kind of response as the sustained silence wore on.

Amy knew the intensity stirring in his telling green eyes. As a fifteen year old horse whisperer she had discovered that he unknowingly gave all of his secrets away to her in those orbs of teenage passion. They always revealed everything the perceptive young cowgirl ever needed to know about what Ty was thinking, and she had learned to use that to her advantage when his communication skills failed him.

Ty's struggle to regain his emotional balance made Amy want to reach out to him, knowing how much the only guy she had ever really loved had been set back on his heels by this unexpected news, how curious he was to find out what he had missed, and how much she had missed looking into the emerald windows to his soul.

"I'm so sorry…, I shouldn't have dropped _this_ kind of news on you like that!" she apologized and broke fully into tears. "It's just…, that we have looked for you for so long, and when we finally found you, we read and heard all the stories about what you do when you ride…, and, tonight, when I actually saw you do it…, Ty, I don't think I have ever been so scared as when that bull charged at you! All I could think of was that T.J. is not going to get the chance to meet his father because he is going to get himself killed before that ever happens!"

"T.J.?"

"Yes…," she realized her little boy didn't yet have a name to his father. "Timothy Jackson…, _Borden_, after the three men in my life who matter the most to me. And now, there are four!"

Tears welled up in the rodeo hero's eyes at the sound of the name. He tried his best to not break down in front of the two most influential people in his life, but his emotions were now out of his control and with the next breath everything he struggled to hold back broke loose. He reached for the much needed comfort he had almost forgotten and wrapped his arms around Amy without thinking, then, startled at his impulsive action, backed away because he realized that it may no longer be something he should do, but when Amy grasped him around the waist and pulled him back into a vise like grip, he knew that nothing else mattered and he had to show her how sorry he was that he hadn't been a part of her life during such an important time.

The old cowboy was satisfied that the two young parents were ready to have the talk they had needed to have for so long now, and said, "Amy, I think I am going to head back to my room and get some sleep, if you think you will be all right?"

"Go ahead, Grandpa, I'll be fine, _now_. We have plenty to talk about, so don't wait up on me, OK?"

"You know where I am if you need me," he reminded them both that he would not be too far away.

"I owe you a steak, don't I Jack?" Ty reminded him.

"No, not tonight, Ty. Maybe we can catch back up tomorrow, I'll save my appetite until then, but thanks anyway!" he said when he turned to look over his shoulder at the two of them one more time before he slipped out of their sight.

"How about you, are you hungry?" he offered.

"Starved! You got anything in there to eat?" she asked with a nod toward the camper.

"That's a gourmet kitchen on wheels! I have her well stocked so I don't have to go out so much," he said with a big grin under his softening tear filled eyes. "Let me show ya!"

* * *

><p>Maybe it was due to the fact that she had not eaten since early afternoon, but Amy thought Ty's thawed out and microwaved chili was about the best thing she had eaten in a very long time. They ate, and talked, with questions and answers volleying across the table like a tennis ball at a Wimbledon center court match.<p>

"I don't suppose you have a picture?" the curious father asked.

"You're kidding, right?" she said, reaching into her backpack and offering him a thick picture book she had put together for him to keep. "I made this for you. There are photos from before he was born all the way up until a couple of days ago!"

Amy placed the album with the still short story of their son's life in his hands, rose from her seat and picked up the bowls and silverware from the table to put them in the sink, and leaned back against the kitchen countertop, quietly watching the awe struck father open it up and see his son's face for the first time. Her heart melted when his face lit up with the turn of every page, breaking into a wide grin and then shifting into full concentration as he studied each photograph, caressing them with the tips of his fingers as if to touch the little boy he had instantly fallen in love with. She was relieved and thankful that Ty had accepted the traumatic turn of events as well as he had, and that the sweet spirit of the boy who used to live in the barn loft at her family ranch, her first and only love until T.J. came along, was still inside this man who was being presented as the fearless rodeo cowboy.

"I can only imagine the questions you must have!" she said, "Anything you would like to know, just ask!"

He looked at her, thinking over all of the possible mysteries she might unravel for him, and then said, "Just _tell_ me about him, _everything_ about him!"

"Well," she laughed at his sudden enthusiasm," He's _perfect_, Ty! He's _beautiful! _He is without a doubt the sweetest little boy, ever!"

The new father listened intently as the mother of his son gave him an introductory glimpse into the life of the little one, and he smiled at the image of such a healthy, happy little boy. Just as quickly, a look of despair took over his face and it made Amy wonder what could have caused the sudden shift in his mood.

"Ty, what's wrong?" she asked. "Are you OK?"

Deflated, he drew in a long breath and weighed his next words carefully, then he said, "You know how much I resented my own father because of the way he treated Mom and me, and the thought just occurred to me that I have turned out exactly like him! Maybe even worse, because my own son has never even seen me before! At least Dad was around enough for me to know who he was!"

"C'mon, Ty, as weird as this whole thing has turned out to be, it isn't like you abandoned someone that you didn't even know existed! Look, we have a long way to go to make up for all this lost time, but that is exactly what I intend to try to do, and if you are willing, we can make it happen, at least to the point of getting along again!" she proclaimed.

"How can I ever make it up to him…, to _you_?" he worried, "There isn't any way for a father to explain to his son why he hasn't been around for his whole life!"

"OK, Ty, trust me when I say this, I don't think it is going to be all that hard to fix things between you and T.J. You will find that our son is an amazing, loving little guy! He is soooo happy! He hasn't ever had to wonder if he was loved! He flirts with all of the girls, _already_, and they all make a big deal out of him when he goes into town! They all think he is adorable, _because he is_, and the little rat _knows_ it! He is _such_ a ham! He takes after you in so many ways," she admitted. "He is the kind of kid that is a sweetheart and everybody just _has_ to love him!

Ty watched the proud mother's eyes dance and her enthusiasm grow while she tried her best to set his mind at ease and fill in the questions he so badly needed to know the answers to. His spirit soared, then crashed, then soared again while he wavered between learning to be a proud new father, then letting the idea creep back in that he must have been such a terrible disappointment to the people that he thought of as his family back at Heartland Ranch.

At four in the morning Ty leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees and his eyes dropped to the floor while he thought about where he was going to go from here. "I am _so_ sorry, Amy, that I wasn't there to do my part when you would have needed the support and love that I should have given you. I just felt so let down after what happened in Calgary that night, like I had lost everything that ever mattered to me, in a split second! If Jack hadn't grabbed me by the arm and led me out of there like he did, and nobody else could have _ever_ gotten away with that, I think I would have tried to hurt your show boat horse training partner!"

Amy caught Ty's green eyes looking straight at her and locked in on them to make sure he understood that she was giving everything she had to what she was about to say, "That is why it is such a shame about what happened that night! I know, Grandpa told me that you saw Chase kiss me after the ride out of the arena. I admit that I was having a great time, and the experience was so…, _overwhelming_! You know what I am talking about! I saw how you reacted to those fans cheering for you tonight! You get to hear that kind of response from your fans all the time, Ty, but for someone like me, it is very rare to have that kind of interaction with people who appreciate what I do. Chase saw how much it affected me and I guess he mistook my excitement for some kind of feelings for him, and he just grabbed me and kissed me! As soon as I had a chance to get myself together, I let him have it! If you would have watched for a few seconds longer, you would have seen me knock him out from under his hat! There are witnesses! Lou can vouch for me! I kept my hand in ice for the next two days!" she explained with conviction. "Let's make a deal, right now, Ty. We both know that we had a terrible misunderstanding and that we both regret what led up to it and everything that happened after it, but I want more than anything else to fix things between us as best we can! Your son will be thrilled to meet you, and all of us at home would love to have you around more often. I don't know what your plans are, but just know that you are loved and missed by everyone and you are more than welcome to come home, if that is what you want. We will all make it work, so help me! And, I want my best friend back! Then, maybe we can see how it goes with whatever comes after that. What do you think?"

"I already arranged for some time off after Great Falls," he informed her. "I am pretty sure that my mind was made up to come home for a visit anyways, if I didn't chicken out!" he shrugged and chuckled. "I missed you and everybody back home. I just didn't know if I could face you again, you know, because I thought that you were with him!"

Amy hesitated to answer, and then asked, "Would you hate me…, if I did this?" The determined and surprisingly committed woman leaned into him and slipped her fingers through the back of his hair, curling them into a tight grip as she kissed him deeply on the lips.

Caught completely off guard, Ty froze in place for a couple of missed heartbeats until he quickly recovered by placing his fingertips at her flushed cheeks and returning the affection, neither of them showing any sign of letting go any time soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lou casually turned her head just enough to sneak a glance through the kitchen window at her fidgety sister who busied herself with entertaining her son while they all waited. He played on a quilt that she had spread out below the bench seat on the front porch beside her. Amy picked up the magazine she had brought outside with her to try taking her mind off the agonizing past thirty minutes since Ty had called from the other side of Hudson to tell her that he was getting close and would be there soon, but couldn't concentrate on its content and plopped it back down on the seat with a nervous sigh, allowing an eager eye to keep watch on the hill above the house for a sign that the much anticipated visitor was finally here.

"How's she doin', Lou?" Jack asked as he leaned on the sink beside his eldest granddaughter, peeking over her shoulder and stealing a look for himself.

"Well, if Ty doesn't get here pretty soon, I think she is going to pass out, or something!" she answered, shaking her head, feeling the stress that her sister was experiencing at the moment.

"Everything is going to work itself out, Lou, and I think the heart to heart she had with him in Montana was…, well…, it was a good one!" he assured her. "Those two have always managed to figure out how to get along, and I am pretty sure they both still care about each other, so I have every reason to believe that today will set a few things right that have needed to be taken care of for a long time now," he prophesied.

"They both need each other so much right now…, I hope you're right, and they can admit it to themselves, _and_ to each other!" she said.

* * *

><p>Amy's thoughts were replaying every second of the talk she had shared with Ty only six days before. She was thankful that the surprise meeting with her old boyfriend, the unsuspecting rodeo star, had gone as well as it had. He accepted the news better than she could have ever hoped, but today was another milestone in her life, as well as her son's, and the gravity and uncertainty of it all was wrenching her gut. There was some satisfaction to be taken in the way they had talked nonstop until the early morning hours when things between them had taken a nostalgic turn toward better times. She thought how risky of a move it was to have kissed him like she did, so soon and so passionately, but that moment cemented the next phase of their crazy relationship and answered some long agonized questions she had been asking herself about the possibility of mending the awful setback they had so unfortunately experienced that night in Calgary.<p>

The memory of waking up with her face buried against Ty's chest, still sitting there on the sofa in his new camper, was enough to cause her lips to curl into a hopeful smile. They had both faded into a peaceful sleep after all of the back and forth between them for hours on end, and although her neck was sore for days from sleeping in such a twisted position, she considered it well worth the inconvenience.

* * *

><p>Dust rose from the gravel road just over the rise near the gate that led into the ranch. Amy's heart leapt in her chest and it began to race in anticipation, but she exhaled a deep breath through her lips to calm herself, letting her determination to make this day a special one for her son to take priority over her worries. She glanced down at the blanket to see the prize of her life attentively playing with his stuffed horse and a cow just like his great granddad's, and when he noticed her looking at him, stopped to so innocently give her that perfected little grin of his. She had to push back the tears from knowing how big this day was going to be for him. Although he would be too young now to remember it when he got older, this was going to be one of the most important days of his life. "OK, little man, let's put on our best behavior, shall we?" she said to the child as she poked a finger into his tummy, making him grin at her again.<p>

The gleaming white truck with camper in tow wound down the driveway and stopped front of the barn where Ty had always parked his old blue pickup. Amy stood at the edge of the porch, still trying to decide whether to let Ty come to them or to pick up their son and meet him in the front yard. She decided on the latter. "C'mon T.J.! There is someone here that I want you to meet! He has come all the way from the States to see you!" She bent over to pick up the boy whose eyes were glued to the commotion caused by the big rig and its ensuing dust cloud, and he seemed eager to check it out for himself.

Ty stepped out of his new truck onto the Alberta dirt of Heartland Ranch, the only place he had ever known the feeling of a having a real home. He swung around to open the rear door and fetch two bags full of presents he had brought for the occasion, hesitating for a few quick seconds to look at the old horse barn that he had called home for four years. It seemed somehow smaller than he remembered it, and in need of a good coat of red paint. _'Can't believe I stayed in that thing for so long,_' he thought, _'must be the coldest place on the planet in the wintertime, and probably the hottest place in the summer!' _But he also remembered learning to trust the family he had unofficially adopted as his own, and learned how to love all of the people who took him in when he so desperately needed to find a place in this world, especially a certain bossy young cowgirl who still held his heart in her hands when he saw her standing at the gate in front of the house with his son in her arms.

He didn't remember walking across the gravel driveway toward them, watching them as if still inside a dream as he approached, but suddenly they all stood together, each waiting for the other to speak their first words as a family. "Ty?" Amy said when she noticed he was obviously at a loss for anything to say. "I would like for you to meet your son, _Timothy Jackson Borden_!" The child looked at his mother and smiled when she said his name. "We have been calling him T.J. since he first came home, it just fits him better, don't you think?"

Ty was tongue tied but could not help smiling at the curious little face as it smiled back at him so expectantly. Not knowing quite how to say his first words to his own child made him feel completely awkward and insecure, especially with the boy so clearly waiting, impatient for the admiration he had learned to expect from everybody he met.

"T.J., this is your daddy!" the doting mother explained to the boy. She saw the faint look in Ty's eyes and decided it would probably be better to let the unsteady new father sit before she offered to have him hold his son, "Why don't we go up to the porch so we can sit down and look in this bag to see what Daddy brought you?"

Never for any distraction did the young child take his eyes from the stranger since he showed up, and when Amy noticed the little one following every movement of the larger of the two guys she was trying to introduce, she let out a little chuckle, "The only time I've ever seen him concentrate on a human like this is, well, _never_! He _loves_ animals and he watches them like that, but never a person! He expects anyone he meets to make a fuss over him, and that's just the way it is!" she laughed.

Lou had been waiting almost as anxiously as her sister for Ty to come home and finally meet his real flesh and blood family. She sobbed openly at the sight of them coming together for the first time, knowing very well how important these precious next few minutes would be for all of them. Jack took a quick look through the window and reached a comforting arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze, about to let his rarely revealed tender side get the best of him as well at the sight of his granddaughters' new family.

Amy held the wiggling child securely in her arms and stopped to nod for Ty to sit beside the blanket on the porch where the child had been playing before he arrived.

Ty nervously spoke to the little clone of himself as he sat and hoisted the bag full of toys toward him, "Hey, T.J., I brought you some cool stuff! I hope we can find something in there that you will like!"

"Are you ready to hold him?" she asked with an amused brow raised in honor of his fight between terror and eagerness to take the next step.

"I…, uhh…, I never held a baby before," he confessed, as if ashamed.

"Well, you've come to the right place to fix that, Mister! This little guy expects a lot of holding, demands it, in fact, and you look ready to me!" she half teased the timid first time babysitter, "Here, like this," she showed him as she placed the boy on his thigh. "Just hold him steady and he'll be fine," she reassured him. "Now, T.J., let's see what Daddy brought you!"

Amy reached into the first bag and started to pile a variety of stuffed animals and talking toys, a couple of shirts, a little red cowboy hat, and surprisingly, a stack of story books. "Oh, my, you've been busy!" she said while examining the stash. "You did _good_, Dad! I thought you said you were a rookie at baby stuff?" she teased. "How did you decide…, how did you know what he would like?" she asked, curious at how he had made such wise choices, given he knew nothing about babies.

"To be honest, I stopped in Hudson to ask Maggie for help," he confessed. "I figured she would know what he already had, and what he might like. The story books were my idea. Soraya was there and said she comes to see you two at least once a week and knew which ones he already had, so she took me down the street to the book store and I just bought everything else they had!" he laughed. "And, you forgot one," nodding toward the second bag.

Her jaw dropped as she raised twelve fresh, beautiful red roses out of the bag. She softened her gaze at him and shook her head in amazement for the gesture, trying not to give herself away at how overcome with joy she was at that moment.

The misty twinkling in his green eyes was telling on the cowboy again and that was all it took to finally crack her strong façade. She pinched her lips and tried to avoid letting her tears get in the way of the progress taking place between the three of them, but when Ty saw her straining to hold back her emotions, he shifted the boy to his other thigh and reached his free hand out and placed it around hers, letting her know the feelings she held inside were his as well.

Tears were spattering in the kitchen sink. Lou was beside herself with delight at the tenderness she saw in Ty's and her little sister's eyes as they unwittingly shared the private moment with most of Amy's remaining family who was unable to resist the scene playing itself out on the other side of the window.

"Lou, come and sit with me on the sofa, before you pass out yourself, and I have to carry you!" he tried to tease her a bit to help her gather her scrambled emotions back together.

"I made a fresh pitcher of tea, if you would like some," Amy offered, wanting to allow Ty a few minutes alone with their son. "And I need to put these in Mom's vase and set them on the table for everyone to see! Thank you!"

"Uh, sure, that would be great!" he replied, needing something to wash the hoarseness out of his throat. "And, you are very welcome."

Amy stood and walked toward the house with roses in hand, pausing at the front door and turning to look back at the two studying each other as she took a mental photograph of the first attempt at bonding between them, smiling again when she noticed that T.J. never took his eyes away from his dad, not even to follow her as she walked away.

The door had no sooner closed behind her when she buried her nose in the flowers and burst into happy tears, crying as she laughed out loud at Lou who was half running, half dancing across the kitchen to meet her. They held each other tightly, swaying together in a small circle, elated at the overwhelming success of the first meeting.

Jack came to them and offered his wide open arms to his granddaughters who hugged him from either side. "Looks like everything is going O.K." he told them.

"Oh, Grandpa, I will never forget what just happened! That was one of the most amazing things that will I will ever get to experience, and I know Ty feels the same way!"

* * *

><p>"I saw them headed out to the barn, just now," Jack told them. "Don't you think you had better go and check on them?" he asked, concerned that Ty might be in over his head this soon into the newness of parenthood.<p>

"Let's let them be, for now," she proposed. "He's going to be fine. T.J. will let us now if things aren't working out," she chuckled.

Amy casually glanced out the window every few seconds, looking for any sign of trouble at the barn before she finally gave in to curiosity. She had waited as long as she could stand it, maybe five minutes at most, trying to look less unnerved than she actually was. Impatiently taking two glasses out of the cupboard, she put a handful of ice into each of them before filling them from the fresh pitcher of tea, then snatched a few cookies off the still hot cookie sheet that Lou had been baking for a snack. Trying not to be in an obvious hurry in case anyone was watching, she walked across the driveway into the door of the barn and listened for the men in her life to see where they may have gotten to. Steps moved across the floor above her._ 'He went up to his old loft to look around!' _She climbed the wooden stairs and paused at the last step when she heard the two of them having a precious conversation, and realizing she didn't want to disturb the moment, she sat the tray on the step and peeked through the crack at the door to watch them.

Ty walked slowly with his son in his arms. "_You_ are my _son_, _my_ little _boy_!" he tried to explain to the still curious child. "I am your _Dad!" _he told him. "_Really_! Your _Dad_! I have wondered what you would be like when you finally got here someday, and now I know! You're mommy always said that I would spoil my kids, but we know better than that, don't we?" He laughed at the thoughtful expression on the curious child's face when he spoke to him and when the boy started trying to jabber back to him, he broke into a belly laugh, in turn causing the baby to cackle back at him.

No longer able to maintain her silence, Amy succumbed to the infectious laughter between dad and son and gave away her position behind the door.

"Hey, T.J., I think Mommy is spying on us!"

"Maybe, just a little," she giggled as she pushed the door open and stepped into the room with the tray of refreshments. "I didn't want to interrupt the awesome conversation you two were having!"

"Cookies! Uh, you are baking now?" Ty spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Actually, Lou made them, but I made the tea!" she replied, mocking her hurt feelings with a pouty lip.

They sat there, all three on the bed, enjoying another first. Eating together as a family, even if it was only a snack, was monumental to them, gathering more unforgettable memories with each passing minute.

"What are we going to do, Ty? How are we going to make this work?"

"Well, Amy, I think we take it one day at a time and let life take us where ever it takes us…, together, if that is O.K. with you?" he offered. "With all the time we lost to our being a couple of hard heads, _both_ of us," he raised his green eyes to her focused baby blues and pursed his lips to emphasize the point, "and with the terrible misunderstanding that cost all of us so dearly, I just want to tell you that I am in this for the long haul, no matter what, no matter how long it takes, to make us into the family we all want, and deserve."

Amy nodded to him, looking straight into his eyes, and said, "We can make it work, I know we can. There is no rush, or magic deadline, but we have to promise to be honest with each other, and talk things through!"

"I think we are off to a good start!" he said. "I won't ever let you down again, I promise to hold up my end of the deal."

From the center of the bed, T.J. turned his face away from his dad for the first time since the rodeo cowboy had arrived and found his ever watching mother, giving her an all too familiar look of deep concentration, a grin, and a smell.

"Okey Dokey, Dad! Things are about to get real!" The knowing mother picked the boy up from the bed and handed him back to his father, who curled his lip, scrunched his nose, and looked at the little person in his arms with a twinge of fear. "But…."

"Oh, you'll get to the butt, all right! I'll get the tray and you are going to get a lesson in changing a diaper when we get to the house."

"But, I've never…," he hesitated.

"Look at the bright side, Dad, you won't be able to say that fifteen minutes from now, _right_?" she said, cackling as she winked and went through the door and down the stairs. "C'mon, let's get crackin'!" she teased the once again unsteady father-in-training. "You're not going to let a wee little baby get the best of you now, are you, '_Mister Rodeo Star, Master of Bulls'_?"

"But…, _AMY_, wait up!"


End file.
